Decision About Reopening Of Educational Institutions To Be Taken On 24 March

The decision about reopening or further closure of educational institutions to be taken on 24 March, says Federal Minister of Education.

The federal minister shared the update in a tweet as the COVID situation across the country is once again getting serious.

“The third coronavirus wave is serious; requires careful review. All education/health ministers will meet Wednesday, March 24 at the NCOC to take a decision regarding the opening or further closure of educational institutions. The health of students, teachers/staff primary consideration,” he shared in a tweet.

Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood on Monday said that the decision to close schools is “very difficult”.

The minister while addressing a ceremony in the provincial capital. He also spoke about the demerits of online education.

“The ministry of education wants that the educational institutions should remain open and we took a number of steps during COVID-19,” he said.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the National Command and Operation Centre in Islamabad (NCOC) in a meeting held in Islamabad has decided to increase restrictions on activities contributing to the rise in Covid positivity.

The federal minister for planning and chief of NCOC Asad Umar shared the output of the meeting in a tweet later in the day.

“In the NCOC meeting this morning we decided to increase restrictions of activities contributing to a sharp increase in covid positivity, Asad Umar said.

“The provincial & ICT administration were also directed to tighten the implementation of sop’s and a crackdown on violations that are taking place,” he added.

According to sources, the violations of the government’s coronavirus SOPs are being reported in most of the schools where examinations are being conducted.

Keeping in view the latest spike in positive cases the coronavirus monitoring body will decide on the future course of action.

The NCOC will be making decisions regarding implementation of smart lockdowns in more areas across the country.

Read More: Gilgit-Baltistan to Reopen Educational Institutions from Feb 1

The latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed the COVID-19 has claimed 20 more lives and 3,669 fresh infections were reported on Monday.

While Punjab remains the most affected province from the third wave of coronavirus.

Punjab has reported 1,863 coronavirus cases and eight more deaths in the last 24 hours.