ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the federal and provincial education ministers failed to reach a consensus on early closure of schools across Pakistan and extension of winter vacations to curtail the coronavirus after the second wave of the pandemic appears to be gathering momentum.
“No decision made on closure of schools in Punjab today,” Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas announced after the meeting at the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).
ANNOUNCEMENT:
No decision made on closure of Schools in Punjab today. Next meeting will be on Monday 23rd November, 2020 for further review of the COVID 19 situation. All options are being discussed. No immediate decision for now.
— Murad Raas (@DrMuradPTI) November 16, 2020
“Next meeting will be on Monday 23rd November, 2020 for further review of the COVID 19 situation. All options are being discussed. No immediate decision for now,” he added.
Earlier this month, Raas had said that the government may choose to close down educational institutes in Punjab if the coronavirus spread continued to increase, adding, however, no such decision has so far been taken.
“I am continuously checking and monitoring the implementation of the coronavirus SOPs [in schools] and school administrations are making maximum efforts to fully implement these,” he had said.
The country on Monday reported 2,128 infections of the novel coronavirus after conducting 29,511 tests with a positivity ratio of 7.21 per cent.
In a series of tweets, the Ministry of Education said that the meeting had been briefed on the standard operating procedures (SOPs) being adopted in educational institutions to curb the pandemic, especially in light of the increasing cases of Covid-19 nationwide.
“A number of options were considered, including an extended winter vacation schedule, to curb the spread of coronavirus,” it said, adding that the provincial ministers had briefed the forum on the situation of their respective education sectors.
صوبائی وزرا نے متعلقہ صوبوں کی، ایجوکیشن سیکٹر کی صورت حال سے فورم کو آگاہ کیا
بین الصوبائی وزرا تعلیم کانفرنس میں آج چھٹیوں یا سکولوں کی بندش کے حوالے سے کوئی حتمی فیصلہ نہیں ہوا۔
بین الصوبائی وزرا تعلیم کانفرنس 23 نومبر پیر کو 11 بجے دوبارہ میٹنگ کرے گی@Shafqat_Mahmood pic.twitter.com/8FPQQQnfXC— Ministry of Federal Education/ProfessionalTraining (@EduMinistryPK) November 16, 2020
“No final decision on holidays or school closures was made today at the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers’ Conference,” it said, adding that a final decision had been deferred till November 23 when the forum would meet again.
Later in the day, Mahmood also briefed the National Coordination Committee (NCC), headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan, on proposals related to curbing the outbreak in educational institutions. The meeting, according to a statement, decided to ensure strict adherence to government-devised health guidelines.
The prime minister and the federal cabinet have already vowed to not impose another lockdown.
In a statement, the All Pakistan Private Schools Federation announced that schools would not be closed, nor would there be any winter vacations. It said the public should not listen to “rumors regarding the closure of schools.”
