Closure of schools: Meeting of education ministers postponed

KARACHI: A meeting of the provincial education ministers scheduled today to decide the fate of schools in view of the current COVID-19 situation in the country has been postponed, according to a statement issued by the Federal Education Ministry Thursday.

“In continuation of this ministry's DO Letter of even number dated 11th January, 2022 the meeting of the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC) scheduled on 13th January, 2022 has been postponed till next week,” read the education ministry’s notification.

It added that the next date of IPEMC will be communicated later. No reason was given by the ministry for the postponement of the meeting.

The meeting was to be held today with Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood in the chair. The education ministers were expected to take a decision regarding the closure of schools amid a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases across the country, especially in Karachi.

Pakistan reported more than 3,000 coronavirus cases for the first time since September 15, 2021, the National Command and Operations Centre's (NCOC) data showed today morning. As many as five deaths were also recorded, which took the death toll to 28,992, according to official figures.

On Tuesday, while briefing the media of the decisions taken by the federal cabinet in its weekly meeting, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry had said Pakistan would not undergo another lockdown and dismissed reports of the closure of schools despite rising coronavirus cases.

The information minister had said the federal cabinet was informed that the Covid-19 positivity ratio had doubled in the country. "But despite this, it is our resolve that we absolutely not impose a lockdown in Pakistan. Our economy cannot bear the burden [of another lockdown]," he said.