Schools in COVID-19 hotspot areas to remain closed till April 11

Schools in COVID-19 hotspot areas!!

Schools in COVID-19 hotspot areas to remain closed till April 11, announces Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, “Ninth, Matric and Intermediate classes exams will be held as per schedule announced by the respective education boards,” he said.

The federal minister made the announcement in a press conference conducted after an important meeting of education and health ministers at the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

Sharing the key decisions made at the meeting, Federal Minister added that the provincial governments can decide about adding more cities/districts to the list where all educational institutions will remain closed. 

The status quo will remain in Sindh, Balochistan, and Gilgit Baltistan, where the situation is relatively better. However, authorities can act based on developments, he added.

Furthermore, the government will hold a meeting with Cambridge International Examinations to check whether a change in exam schedule is possible or not.

The federal minister said that the number of active COVID-19 cases has doubled in the last three weeks while the positivity ratio has crossed 8%.

He added that the authorities are aware of the losses borne by students, but the health of children is the government’s top priority and there would be no compromise on that.

After Shafqat Mahmood’s presser, the Punjab Education minister announced the name of areas where schools are to remain closed till April 11.

The provincial education minister in his tweet said that all public and private schools in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Sargodha, and Sheikhupura will remain closed till April 11.

“All public & private schools of Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Sargodha, Sheikhupura will remain closed till April 11th, 2021. The remaining districts will be open on the previous schedule,” he tweeted.

Meanwhile, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani, shortly after the meeting that schools should remain open in cities where the pandemic is under control.

Keep in mind earlier NCOC Announces Closure Of Schools In Seven Punjab Cities Until March 28.

While talking to a news channel he said that the positivity ratio in Sindh educational institutes is 2.8%, but Sindh’s final decision on schools will depend on data shared by the NCOC.