Pakistan to decide on reopening of schools today

ISLAMABAD: In an intra-provincial meeting of education ministers, the government will make the final decision on reopening of educational institutions across the country today.

In July,   the Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood had said that all educational institutions – including universities  – will reopen on September 15 if the coronavirus situation of the country improves.

The education minister will chair the meeting which will also be attended by officials of the health department and Higher Education Commission to decide the strategy and SOPs regarding the recommencement of academic sessions.

The health ministry officials will brief the ministers about the current situation of the COVID-19 in the country.

Matters related to the single national curriculum, examinations in 2021, and short curriculum for the current academic year will also come under the discussion, according to the agenda of the meeting.

The recommendations will then be presented to the National Command  Operation Centre (NCOC) for further deliberations among all the stakeholders.

Educational institutions in the country were shut on March 13 in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus.

‘Top-down, rotational’ basis

On August 27, the NCOC had suggested that all educational institutes in the country should be reopened with a top to bottom approach (i.e universities first, then colleges, then high schools, and so on) and on a rotational basis.

The suggestion was made during a meeting of the NCOC to discuss the reopening of educational institutions across the country.

The meeting was attended by representatives of various educational institutions, including public and private sector institutions and madaris, to reach a consensus-based decision on the opening of various institutions from university to school levels.

According to a statement released by the NCOC after the meeting, it has been suggested that the timings of various institutions should be reduced by suspending various activities that involve mass gatherings, including co-curricular activities.

All participants were briefed on the current coronavirus situation prevailing globally, regionally, and in the country. They were also informed about the risks and challenges involved in the opening of educational institutions as it involved children of all ages.

The educational sector representatives were informed that the NCOC’s suggestions had been finalised after hectic and lengthy consultations with international experts, academia, and think tanks, particularly those who had been working on the reopening of the educational sector.

Dr Faisal Sultan told the participants that while the eventual opening will be undertaken after a consultative process, the NCOC and the Health Ministry would closely monitor disease statistics on a daily basis, particularly to assess the likely impact of tourism and Muharram on the opening of educational institutions.

He added that an IT-based monitoring mechanism is being developed to ensure health guidelines and COVID-19 containment measures in this regard.