ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) has allowed the resumption of secondary classes from Sept 23 after the daily number of coronavirus infections continued to drop.
In a meeting of the provincial education ministers earlier this month, it was decided that a phase-wise reopening of schools starting September 15 would be carried out.
The ministers had agreed that the schools would open in phases starting with Grade 9 and up, as well as all universities, on September 15, which then were reopened as scheduled. Classes 6th to 8th were to resume on September 21. Pre-primary and primary classes have been scheduled to resume on September 30.
According to a statement issued by the NCOC, Planning Minister Asad Umar, Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood, Interior Minister Brig (r) Ijaz Ahmad Shah, and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, as well as the provincial education ministers and secretary education attended the today’s meeting.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Education Minister Shahram Khan Tarakai confirmed the decision in a posting on Twitter. “We have decided to open schools for class 6 to 8 from tomorrow Insha Allah in second phase across KP,” he said.
While the decision would apply to schools in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Punjab, Sindh last week announced it was postponing the resumption of classes by a week due to lax enforcement of safety protocols in schools.
“Our purpose is not to shut down schools permanently,” Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani told the press, adding that once the standard operating procedures had been fully implement, educational institutions would be allowed to return to normal operations.\
ANNOUNCEMENT:
All Public & Private Schools will be allowed classes 6 through 8 starting September 23rd. It is imperative for everyone to follow SOPs issued by School Education Department Punjab. All of us have to play our part to make this successful InshAllah. pic.twitter.com/0nId7NWNTr— Murad Raas (@DrMuradPTI) September 22, 2020
