Pakistan to take final call today on reopening educational institutions
Sep 07, 2020
Islamabad [Pakistan], September 7 : The Imran Khan-led government will make a final decision on Monday regarding the opening of educational institutions across Pakistan from September 15.
An Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC) will be held regarding the move to reopen educational institutions, which were shut on March 13 in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, Geo News reported.
Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood will chair the meeting along with officials of the Health Department and Higher Education Commission to decide on standard operating procedures pertaining to the recommencement of academic sessions.
Health ministry officials would apprise the ministers regarding the current COVID-19 situation in the country.
According to the agenda of the meeting, the IPEMC will hold discussions on a single national curriculum, examinations in 2021 and short curriculum for the current academic year.
The recommendations will be sent to the National Command Operation Centre (NCOC) for further discussions among all stakeholders.
On August 27, the NCOC had suggested that all education institutions in Pakistan should be reopened with a top to bottom approach -- first universities, colleges, high schools and so on -- and on a rotational basis, according to Geo News.
According to the latest data published in The Dawn, Pakistan has 298,903 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 6,345 deaths.
Sindh Province accounts for the highest number of coronavirus cases -- 130,671; followed by Punjab 97,226; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 36,625; Islamabad 15,750; Balochistan 13,292 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 2,331.
