Matriculation, college and university classes would commence from Sept 15
DLP REPORT
ISLAMABAD
With around 6,500 active cases of Covid-19 left across the country, the federal government announced on Monday to reopen educational institutions in three phases starting from September 15.
About 300,000 educational institutions in Pakistan were shut days after initial cases of novel coronavirus were reported in the country in February this year. Of the 298,903 confirmed Covid-19 cases, according to official figures, 286,016 people have recovered with a total number of 6,345 fatalities.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood said that all higher education institutions, including universities, professional colleges, vocational institutes, as well as classes nine till 12 will resume on September 15 in the first phase.
On Sept 23, the minister said, students of classes six, seven and eight will be allowed to return to schools following a review, while primary schools will be reopened on Sept 30 in the last phase. “If things remain okay, we will open all these institutions in 15 days, including madressahs (religious seminaries),” Mehmood said.
The minister warned that the government will be forced to “take action” if the standard operating procedures (SOPs) aimed at reducing risk of the spread of the virus were not followed at any educational institution. He appealed to the parents, teachers and administrations to play their part to ensure all safety measures.
The minister said some attached matters, including a change in the schedule for exams and course work, will be decided as things move forward. Speaking alongside the minister, PM Imran Khan’s special assistant on health Dr Faisal Sultan said that at present, the country’s situation regarding tests and the positivity of tests is “satisfactory”.
“We can say with confidence that we can open educational institutions in phases,” he said, describing reopening of educational institutions as the biggest step among all the decisions taken by the government to ease Covid-19 restrictions.
About the precautionary measures to be followed, Dr Sultan said the density of students in a room or lab will need to be reduced to stop the spread of the virus. “If normally 40 students sit in a class, schools will have to divide them either into two shifts or two days so only 20 children are gathered in one place at a time,” he explained.
He urged parents to ensure their children wear face masks to school. “Make the children understand its importance and cooperate with school and college administrations because they have been instructed to implement this,” he said.
Dr Sultan appealed to students not to go to schools or colleges if they are sick and have a cough and fever to avoid infection to others.
He said educational institutions have also been directed to check symptoms.
Despite doing all this, the PM’s aide said, the government can revise its decision if it felt the threat of the virus again.
Currently, there are 50 million students, two million teachers and 300,000 educational institutions in Pakistan.
