Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood on Monday (today) announced that educational institutions will reopen from September 15th across the country.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Monday Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood announced that the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC) has approved the reopening of educational institutions from September 15th across the country.
According to the federal minister initially, the decision to reopen educational institutions from September 15th will be applicable for grade 9 and above, including colleges and universities across Pakistan.
Meanwhile students of grade 6th – 8th will be allowed to return to schools from September 23rd, whereas pupils enrolled below 6th grade will be allowed to join schools from September 30th.
“The reopening of schools is applicable on madressahs, public, private and vocational institutes as well,” said Shafqat Mahmood.
The federal minister expressed his gratitude towards parents, students and teachers who patiently waited and cooperated with government directives for around six months during this period.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Dr Faisal Sultan also attended the press briefing and highlighted the significance of strict implementation of COVID-19 SOPs in the educational institutions once they reopen.
Dr Faisal Sultan stressed upon the need to ensure social distancing measures and enforcement of all the essential precautionary measures to protect the lives of students and curb the virus spread.
The schools’ administration must ensure decreased density of students in classrooms, laboratories and other school premises, he added.
Meanwhile Sindh government has made the provision of face masks obligatory in educational institutions, whereas Punjab government has made coronavirus tests compulsory for all teachers.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the provincial education department has decided to conduct coronavirus tests on school staff and students.
