Govt decides to reopen schools from Sep 15

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood has said that the educational institutions in the country would reopen from September 15.

Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood chaired the meeting which decided that the schools and universities will resume classes from next month and action will be taken against those who violate the decision.

He said that the decision has been taken to allow schools to call its administration staff before September 15 and announced that training will be conducted to ensure that SOPs are implemented.

The minister further said that provinces will be responsible for ensuring SOPs that are followed, cautioning schools to follow the procedures laid out by the government. “It is my request to private schools, especially, that the SOPs that you will have to follow will be the ones made by the government,” he added.

As per sources, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had proposed to reopen the educational institutions from September 1, which was opposed by all the participants.

Earlier today, Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas had rejected reports of the government reopening schools in the province from August 15.

Meanwhile, the private school associations on Tuesday announced the reopening of schools on August 15, with a policy to maintain SOPs to prevent the COVID-19 spread.

In separate press conferences, the Private Schools Action Committee (PSAC) and the All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association (APPSMA) maintained that a further closure of the educational institutions would push the teachers and other staffers towards serious crisis.

They said a committee had prepared 31 SOPs that would be maintained to reopen the schools. He said the decision was taken at a conference of the private schools’ bodies in Islamabad on July 20 as “neither the federal nor the provincial government paid any heed to the concerns of the schools”.

The associations also asked the government to issue a notification for the reopening of the educational institutions from August 15.