The Elementary and Secondary Education Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has ordered all education boards in the province to stop conducting matric and intermediate examinations for students studying in private high and higher secondary schools that are not registered with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Private Schools Regulatory Authority (KP-PSRA). The directive has been issued under the KP Private Schools Regulatory Authority Act, 2017, which makes registration mandatory for all private educational institutions operating in the province.
Officials revealed that 387 unregistered private schools are currently affiliated with eight education boards, including those in the merged districts, and have been sending students to appear in board examinations despite lacking proper registration. According to official figures, 196 such schools are linked with the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Peshawar, 100 with the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Swat, 47 with the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Mardan, 10 with the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Malakand, four with the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Dera Ismail Khan, 15 with the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Abbottabad, and 12 with the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Bannu.
The department has instructed boards to immediately de-affiliate these unregistered institutions and avoid enrolling their students for upcoming examinations. Section 21 of the 2017 Act clearly states that no private school can function without proper registration, regardless of its affiliation status with a board.
So far, KP-PSRA has registered 11,587 private schools across the province. Authorities indicated that formal de-affiliation actions will proceed once approval is granted by the chief minister, reinforcing regulatory compliance in the education sector.
