Exams for grades 10, 12 to start from June 23: NCOC

 

Covid vaccine made compulsory for educational staff

Punjab to reopen colleges from Monday

ISLAMABAD

TLTP

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has decided that examinations for classes 10 and 12 will be conducted from June 23 to July 29 this year.

In a meeting co-chaired by Planning Minister Asad Umar and National Coordinator Lt Gen Hamood uz Zaman on Saturday, it was decided that for exams preparations, provinces may opt for staggered opening of classes 10 and 12 from Monday onwards with stringent Covid-19 safety measures in place.

The forum approved compulsory vaccination of education staff to be completed by 10th of next month in order to ensure safe continuation of the education sector.

Walk-in vaccination facility to all teachers and school staff above 18 years of age is opened across the country.

The NCOC expressed general satisfaction on the overall situation in the country, however, it cautioned regarding high disease prevalence in Sindh.

The forum, imposing restrictions on travellers from UAE, made it mandatory for them to bring along negative PCR test results from authorised laboratories and said that in case of violations, airlines would be fined for accepting the tests.

The statement said the step is being taken to ensure no passenger enters the country with a fake Covid-19 test. Similarly, on arrival, passengers will be tested once more.

From June 1, no tourist above the age of 50 would be allowed to stay in hotels without a vaccination certificate in tourist districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir — and the same will apply to tourists above 30 years from July 1.

Amusement parks, water parks, and swimming pools — with 50 percent occupancy — will be allowed to be re-open from Sunday onwards in districts with 5 percent and below positivity, the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Higher Education Department (HED) issued a notification for reopening of all private and government colleges across the province, except in Khanewal and Rahim Yar Khan, from Monday with strict implementation of Covid-19 SOPs.