Government of Pakistan has decided to resume the education process in the country and reopen all the education institutes in the first week of September 2020. It was decided during the virtual conference of Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC). This conference was chaired by Minister for Federal Education Shafqat Mehmood and was attended by Education Ministers and Secretaries from across the country. Education institutions in Pakistan have been closed since March when the outbreak of coronavirus was first spread in the country.

It was deliberated that any such decision will have to be implemented after taking permission from the Ministry of National Health Services and approval from National Coordination Committee. It was also agreed that for university and professional examination which are supposed to take place in near future, strict health and safety SOPs (like wearing a facemask and gloves) needs to be followed. [1]

Earlier Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan gave its guidelines on gradual and phasal opening of universities. The guidelines put into perspective the requirements of different stages of student bodies to be present at the campus. It was advised to open campus for faculty and students with limited internet access in the first phase. In the second phase, final year students and students with practical requirement will be allowed to come to campuses. Subsequently, the final phase will see all students permitted to visit the campus on regular basis. [2]