KARACHI: Private Schools Association today (Sunday) has rejected the Sindh government’s decision to close schools for two weeks amid the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
The association, in a statement issued in this regard, said that schools cannot be shut for two weeks or more at the end of the academic year. “The schools must be kept open until the imposition of complete lockdown,” the statement added.
The association pointed out that already 20 million children did not return to schools after the closure of educational institutions due to the COVID-19 outbreak. “The closure of schools has also resulted in the unemployment of several teachers,” it added.
They maintained that the closure of educational institutes would not work to prevent COVID-19 spread until other sectors, including transport, parks, malls, restaurants, cinemas, markets, and political and social events were banned completely.
The Private Schools Association has urged the government to adopt a smart lockdown policy, rather than shutting down the schools.
Earlier today (Sunday), Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani had announced that all private and government schools across Sindh will close for two weeks from April 6.
“In light of the Covid-19 situation, we have decided to suspend physical classes for grades one to eight at all government and private schools across the province for fifteen days from April 6 (Tuesday),” he had tweeted.
The third wave of coronavirus continues to wreak havoc as Pakistan recorded over 5,000 new coronavirus cases in the past day. According to the NCOC, Pakistan recorded 5,020 new coronavirus cases across the country while 81people succumbed to the deadly disease.
