Islamabad: Pakistan has announced plans for a safe and phased reopening of schools and universities from September 15 after six months of closure following the swift decline in coronavirus cases.
Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood in a press conference on Monday said that the educational institutions would reopen in three phases from mid-September. “This is a huge decision,” the minister said as he thanked the teachers, parents and students for waiting patiently over the past few months during the peak pandemic days. The government decided to open schools after National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) conducted research and held wide consultative process involving experts before the decision.
COVID situation “satisfactory” to open schools
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said that Pakistan’s COVID-19 satiation regarding tests and the positivity of tests is “satisfactory” after which the government decided to “re-open educational institutions in a phased manner.”
Back to school in phases
After a detailed deliberation between federal and provincial governments attended by both education and health officials, the education ministry announced three phases:
Phase 1: Students in Grade 9 and higher would be the first to return to classes starting September 15, as ninth and tenth grades along with college and university classes would commence first.
Phase 2: Grades 6 to 8 would be allowed to re-open from September 23.
Phase 3: Students in primary till the fifth grade would be the last to return to school from September 30.
Students asked to wear masks
Education Minister Mahmood said that health guidelines would be ensured at schools including mandatory mask wearing, hand washing and social distancing as much as possible to prevent the spread of the virus. Schools are encouraged to follow alternate-day schedule to decrease the number of students in classrooms. Dr Sultan requested the parents to ensure their children wear mask while attending school and to keep sick kids at home to curb the infection.
Alternate day schedule in Punjab
Punjab Minister for School Education Dr Murad Raas shared that the schools across Punjab would follow the reopening schedule as announced by the federal ministry and that all schools would follow the alternate day schedule according to which 50 per cent of total students would come to school one day while the remaining would attend the next day.
Sindh to strictly implement guidelines at schools
While confirming the phased reopening, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani said that masks would be made compulsory in all schools. Strict action would be taken against schools that do not implement the essential health guidelines, he added.
KP to conduct on-campus COVID-19 tests
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial education department has decided to go a step forward and conduct on-campus coronavirus tests of school staff and students on campuses every day to ensure safety.
