Why are people lining up outside this government school in Karachi?

KARACHI: A long queue was witnessed in Karachi's Garden area — but to people's amazement, this wasn't a line to get a visa for the US or to change their rupees to dollars.

For a change, countless people lined up outside the SMB Fatima Jinnah Government Girls School in District West’s Garden area for its admission forms.

These people — many of who start lining up outside the building as early as 6am — were there because they were desirous of getting the admission form for this government school which is managed by Zindagi Trust — a non-profit organisation (NPO) managed by an acclaimed singer and social activist Shehzad Roy.

Taking to its Twitter handle, Zindagi Trust shared a video of people crowding outside the school with the caption: “Here is a glimpse of the Admission Day at SMB Fatima Jinnah Government Girls School. Our expectations have been wholly surpassed by the great response.”

Across the city, several parents, who want quality education for their children but cannot afford the more expensive private schools, lined up at this government school seeking to get their children admitted.

Zindagi Trust Founder and President Roy tweeted another video, stating: “Today Thousands of parents queuing up to get their girls admitted to Zindagi Trust Gov School for quality/free education. Parents are pulling their kids out of private schools in pursuit of quality/free education. Help us so one day all gov schools in Pakistan will be like this.”

Admissions for classes one to matriculation at the school are open till March 11 and parents fully want to grab the opportunity before them.

Since the trust began managing the school, it not only focuses on imparting quality education but also provides opportunities to students for extracurricular activities — and the students here do not disappoint. Many of the girls here have won several competitions at the national level.