Educational institutes to remain closed till July 15: Shafqat Mahmood
Because of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the government
decided to close educational institutes until July 15 while canceling council examinations until the end of this year.
Minister of Education Shafqat Mahmoud addressed the media
after today's National Coordination Committee session.
In his speech, the minister said that the government had
previously decided to close educational institutions until May 31, but then
agreed to an extension until mid-July.
Mahmoud said that due to the ongoing crisis, boardroom exams
for the ninth to middle grades (twelfth grade) will not be taken.
He said that students will be promoted on the basis of
recent years' exams, adding that on this basis, students will be admitted to
universities during their middle-year results.
"Declined"
government decision
The head of the Pakistani Schools Association, Kashif Mirza,
said they reject the government's decision to close educational institutions
until July 15.
He said teachers ’salaries are fixed and more than 90
percent of schools work in rented buildings.
Mirza said that the Prime Minister should announce the
"educational relief package" for schools.
He said the government should allow schools to reopen as of
June 1 and announce standard operating procedures in this regard.
Closing will be eased
from Saturday
Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday that the
government had decided to ease the closure in the country given its impact on
the economy.
"We decided to open the country in a gradual way from Saturday, and now it is the responsibility of the masses to follow the rules, otherwise we will have to reverse the decision."
Prime Minister Imran said, “I was in favor of allowing
public transportation, but the governorates did not. Therefore, it was decided
that the provinces would develop their own standard operating procedures (SOPs)
and share them with the center.
Prime Minister Imran said that the government announced a
relief package worth 1.2 trillion rupees, which is "the largest in the
history of Pakistan."
For his part, Dr. Faisal Sultan, Prime Minister's
Coordinator for Coronaviruses, said that the committee members are consulting
with colleagues from all over the world and asking for their contributions to
develop policies accordingly.
"We are closely monitoring global trends. The course of cases is slow, but we do not want to ease restrictions so that we lose control of the disease."
Earlier on Wednesday, the NCC proposed loosening
restrictions after 9 May.
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