Pakistan's schools, universities to reopen from Sept 15, says education minister

 

ISLAMABAD: Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood said on Monday that the country's educational institutions will reopen in phases starting on September 15 following a downward trend in coronavirus infections.

In a press conference together with the prime minister's special assistant, Dr. Faisal Sultan, the education minister said that the National Command and Operations Center worked hard and consulted with members of think tanks, specialists and continued to review the situation in the region.

"All universities, colleges and colleges of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) will reopen from September 15," Mahmood said. "[The government] has allowed classes in grades IX, X and XI to also take place [as of September 15]."

The minister thanked parents for "waiting patiently" since the last six months, and said the country can now reopen colleges and universities as of September 15.

Highlighting the importance of monitoring the health of children, Mahmood said that students in grades VI, VII and VIII will be able to attend classes starting September 23.

He said that on September 30, if "the situation continues to improve," primary education institutions will be allowed to reopen.

"In the next phase, decisions will be made regarding [conducting] tests," he said.

Mahmood clarified that vocational and skills-based institutes will also be able to reopen from September 15. He said these include classes that target students in grade X and above.

"The reopening of schools is also applicable to mothers, public, private and vocational institutes," said the minister.

The minister warned the management of educational institutes that non-compliance with the COVID-19 SOPs would have consequences.

"It is not easy to say this, but if any educational institute is found not to follow standard operating procedures and procedures, action will be taken against them," he said.

"Parents, teachers, schools and the various administrations will have to cooperate and everyone will have to cooperate," he said. "Only then can we be successful [in protecting against coronavirus]."

Important to reduce the density of students in classes: Dr. Faisal

Speaking after Mahmood, the special assistant to the Prime Minister for Health, Dr. Faisal Sultan, said it was important for schools to reduce the density of students in classrooms and laboratories.

"For example, if a class has 40 students, we would like to divide it into two days or shifts. In this way, 20 students can attend classes on one day and 20 on another," he said, adding that this would lead to a decrease in the spread of infection.

Dr. Sultan said the other reason for taking such precautions was that students could sit a reasonable distance from each other. "This is only possible if classes are divided and a group of students attends them in phases," he said.

Stating that the mask has a very "integral" role in reducing infection, Dr. Sultan asked parents to ensure that their students wear masks when they go to classes.

He urged parents to cooperate with the administration of schools and universities, as well as to work together to defeat the infection. "Parents should make sure that if their child is sick, he should stay home, as his arrival at school may infect someone else," he said.

The deputy prime minister said that of all the steps taken to reopen industries and restaurants after the decline in COVID-19 infections, this is the biggest step the government has taken.

Earlier, education ministers decided that Pakistan's schools would be reopened in phases starting on September 15 and strict monitoring would be carried out to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mahmood had chaired a meeting of all the provincial education ministers to make a final decision on the reopening of educational institutes across the country.

The ministers, according to the sources, proposed that schools would be opened in phases with classes from grade 9 onwards, as well as all universities, would reopen from September 15, while classes for grades 6-8 would resume. September 22. -The primary and primary classes would reopen on September 30.

The President and Executive Director of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Health, Dr. Faisal Sultan, and officials from the health department were also present at the Interprovincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC), which aimed to compile the final recommendations on the opening of educational institutes.

The meeting also focused on finalizing the pstandard operating procedures (SOPs) in this regard. Educational institutes in Pakistan were closed on March 13 in an attempt to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

The Unique National Curriculum (SNC), a short curriculum for the current academic year, exams in 2021 and the establishment of anti-bullying bodies in the provinces were also on the meeting's agenda.