The federal government of Pakistan is considering the possibility of reopening schools across Pakistan under Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to curb the effect of the pandemic. Speaking to the press conference, the education minister Mr. Shafqat Mehmood told the media that government is seeking suggestions from the education sector on how to ensure and enforce SOPs to educational institutes and make their reopening safe for the teachers and students.
Mr. Shafqat Mehmood also mentioned that Education Ministry is working closely with Health Ministry to ascertain that the safety precautions chalked out by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) are being met satisfactorily. He also informed the media that the Education Ministry is also collaborating with UNICEF to check, how reopening of schools amid the pandemic has taken place in other countries. The minister said, “Consultations with UNICEF are also currently underway on the government’s existing policy. We want to end uncertainty on a basic, important issue like education.”
The minister backed this decision on the survey result of Gallup in which around 74% of the parents confirmed that they are willing to send their children to schools despite the outbreak of Covid-19. He also said that the government will directly address the hopes and concerns of the parents through another press conference or media briefing. While the lockdown on several other industries has gradually lifted in the past few weeks, education sector was still closed, and this will be the first step towards resuming the education sector.
In other reports, the federal government of Pakistan has earmarked the date of 15 July for reopening of universities across the country. Higher Education Commission of Pakistan has already been informed of this decision and the administration of universities are contacted to seek suggestions around the process of reopening and education delivery.