Federal Minister for Education, Shafqat Mahmood, has officially announced the decision to reopen primary schools shortly after the opening of higher educational institutions this month.
The institutions are all set to open with ‘government defined’ SOPs, which will include social distancing, sanisation, less students/crowding in the classroom and all the necessary measures required by the government, which are already being implemented in the higher-level educational bodies. Despite the spike in COVID 19 cases in Pakistan, educational institutions are still actively running, following the standard operating procedures.
Subsequently, there have been reports of cases increasing, with the Education Minister declaring how shutting schools once more would ‘destroy education’ for the children/students, and the move made to open schools was one with great care and consideration.
The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) announced on the 25th (Friday), that another 13 educational institutions ( 3 in Sindh & 10 in KPK) were closed due to “non-compliance with health protocols and disease prevalence.”, according to Arab News.
Despite the Pakistan Medical Association’s (PMA) warning about the risk of reopening schools, the decision remains stagnant. Over 20 schools have been closed across Pakistan, including the areas of Rawalpindi, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakthunkhwa and Azad Kashmir, after students were tested positive for the coronavirus.
After a solid decline in COVID from the months of July and August, Pakistan has seen a rapid increase, with over 566 new cases tallying the number to well above 312,000; as people fear a secon wave approaching.