COVID-19: Sindh government announces online classes for public schools

KARACHI: The Sindh education department on Friday gave the green signal for online classes to be held in public schools across the province, as thousands of students are forced to stay at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"Online classes will be held for grades 6-12," a notification from the Sindh education department read on Friday.

The online classes will be launched with the help of The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Microsoft, with 75 masters trainers to train teachers regarding on holding online classes.

IT experts have been hired to conduct the online classes, the notification read.

The secretary education issued directives for all district directors to provide data of teachers and students by June 17.

Earlier on Tuesday, a meeting of the Sindh education department's steering committee under provincial minister Saeed Ghani had decided that teaching would not be allowed in any public or private educational institutions across the province.

However, private educational institutions were permitted to start online education. All of these schools must fully comply with coronavirus SOPs, Sindh Education Minister Ghani had added.

The education minister had said there no final decision had been reached yet on the reopening of schools in the province as COVID-19 cases continued to rise all over Pakistan.

According to Geo News, Ghani had said the schools would be the last places to be reopened in the province. Parents would not send children to schools in the current situation, he added.