Private schools, colleges in Sindh to observe strike on Jan 9 against verification drive

• Inspections violate Sindh Private Institutions Act 2013: alliance.
• Association says a Black Day will be observed on January 8.
• Leaders say will file new application will be filed in court.

All private schools and colleges will remain shut on January 9 (Friday) across Sindh due to a strike announced by the Grand Alliance of Private Schools Associations against the ongoing anti-corruption's verification drives.

Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, alliance leaders, including Haider Ali, Shehzad Akhtar, Tariq Shah, Anwar Bhatti, Danish Zaman and Nasir Zaidi, said the action was being taken to seek "dignified implementation" of a court order and to end what they termed unlawful interference in the private education sector.

The speakers said that under a December 8, 2025, verdict of the Sindh High Court (SHC) Sukkur Bench, the Anti-Corruption Establishment was tasked with verifying freeship lists submitted by regional directors.

However, they alleged that anti-corruption teams had begun conducting direct inspections at schools, which they said violated the Sindh Private Institutions Act, 2013, under which the Directorate of Private Institutions is the sole regulatory authority.

Noting that a Black Day will be observed on January 8, they said that a new application will be filed in the court against the verification process.

The alliance further pointed out that the presence of armed personnel in schools was creating fear and psychological stress among female teachers and minor students, while parents were also facing unnecessary questioning despite having already submitted the required data and undertakings.

The schools' association maintained that private institutions, despite limited resources, were educating millions of children at affordable fees and offering freeships as part of their social responsibility, at a time when a large number of children in Sindh remained out of school.

Targeting the entire sector for alleged individual lapses, they said, was unjust and damaging to the reputation of long-serving educational and charitable institutions.

The leaders urged Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Education Minister Sardar Ali Shah to intervene immediately and direct that the verification process be conducted through the Directorate of Private Institutions, avoiding direct school visits.

Outlining their next steps, the alliance said that joint consultative meetings with parents and school administrations would be held from January 6 to 8 across all districts in the province.