Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood announced on Wednesday that educational institutes in areas with a high incidence of Covid-19, including Islamabad, will remain closed till April 11.

He made the announcement at a press conference after chairing a meeting at the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC). The meeting was also attended by senior officials from the health and education department, and provincial education ministers. Addressing a press briefing, Shafqat said that there has been a surge in the number of cases in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir. “The number of infections is relatively less in Sindh, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan,” he stated. "Therefore, it was decided that educational institutions in selected areas, where restrictions were imposed previously, will continue to be closed till April 11," he said, adding that this applied to schools, colleges, academies and universities alike. The provincial governments will decide the areas where schools will be closed.

The minister said that the forum will continue to review the country's coronavirus outbreak. "We know that closing down schools has caused harm to children's education, but we can't risk their health."

The Federal Minister also added that board examinations will take place according to their timetable (May and June), as giving students the "baseline" grade was no longer an option. "We will also have a meeting with the Cambridge education board to see if we can move the exams forward," he said, but refrained from making any further comments before the meeting.

Meanwhile, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani said that all educational institutions across the province will remain open as usual.

"At present, the situation of coronavirus in Sindh is under control but if SOPs are not implemented, problems may arise," a statement quoted him as saying.

"Given the situation, we have decided that all educational institutions across Sindh will remain open as usual, but only 50 per cent children will be invited under SOPs," he said.

He said all private and public educational institutions would be bound to fully implement SOPs and if any case of coronavirus was found in any institution, the school or college would be closed.