ISLAMABAD: The primary and middle schools, as well as universities, will reopen for students across the country on Monday after being closed for nearly two months during the second wave of the coronavirus disease.
The Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood on Sunday took to his Twitter account and sent a good luck message to students ahead of the reopening of the remaining educational institutions in the country from February 1.
“All the remaining educational institutions are opening tomorrow,” the minister reminded students in a tweet. “I wish the very best to all students.”
In response to a tweet in which the minister was praised for “piloting the schools opening issue very well,” Shafqat Mehmood wrote that he is “always praying for children’s welfare.”
He also urged universities that were not reopening to reconsider their stance. “To those universities who are still not opening despite government permission, I have this to say; Online lessons however good are no substitute for on campus classes. Also interactions in the university mould social behaviour. They should reconsider,” he said.
Earlier, Pakistan opened schools for grade nine to 12 on January 18 after a break of two months. The decision to resume sessions for the rest of the classes in the provinces and the federal territory of Islamabad was taken in the light of the recommendations of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).
Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood told reporters on Saturday that the country has experienced “too much loss of education” during the pandemic, with initial World Bank (WB) estimates saying that at least one million children are expected to drop out of school due to Covid-19’s socio-economic impact on Pakistan.
As part of its anti-coronavirus measures, the government had ordered the closure of all schools and colleges on November 26 last year, with online learning operational until December 24 before the winter break until January 11.
Students from grades nine to 12 returned to school on January 18. However, those in grades 1 to 8 and university students will resume classes from Monday.
During the first phase of the schools’ closure, the government provided free learning material for students from grades one through 12 through the TeleSchool initiative, as well as launching the country’s first “radio school” in December last year to expand its student outreach.
Earlier this week, Shafqat shared the findings of a survey with the Senate, which showed that nearly seven to eight million children had benefited from the TeleSchool initiative. He added that the government has taken several measures to ensure students’ learning remained unaffected during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Senate also passed a resolution calling on the government to devise comprehensive distance learning strategies for the students by collaborating with all provinces.
However, the opening of all educational institutions is raising fears of a spike in cases of Covid-19 in case the standard operating procedures (SOPs) are not followed.
According to the guidelines, the academic activity will resume with strict compliance of Covid-19 SOPs and students will be divided into two groups and each group will attend classes for three days in a week.
The Punjab government has issued a notification in light of the decision made by the NCOC after reviewing the coronavirus situation in the country, according to which the board examinations for matric and intermediate students will be held in May and June.
Punjab Minister for Education Dr Murad Raas earlier shared the notification on social media saying that, as per the SOPs, students of all the educational institutions shall attend classes on alternative days with 50 per cent ratio on any single working day.
“The Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP) communicated earlier shall continue to be followed by the public schools and assessment criteria and examinations scheduled for 5th and 8th grade shall be communicated separately by the Punjab Examination Commission,” read the notification.
