Sindh puts off reopening schools by a week, Centre stays course

Ag APP

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: A back and forth between Sindh government and the Centre regarding the second phase of the reopening of schools was on display on Friday, after the province announced it was putting off reopening institutions by a week over virus fears while the Centre said it would stay the course as the country recorded more than 700 daily cases for the first time in a month.

Sindh education minister Saeed Ghani said the reopening of schools for sixth, seventh and eighth class students was being delayed by a week because educational institutes have been observed to have failed in enforcing safety protocols, Geo News reported.

However, federal education minister Shafqat Mehmood responded to the Sindh government’s announcement by saying there is “no change regarding the time table announced earlier” after inter-provincial meeting of education ministers. He said a meeting would be held in the NCOC to “decide finally”, but if the current trend remains, there is no reason to postpone six to eight opening.

The developments came as the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) revealed a further 13 educational institutions were closed across the country in the past 24 hours due to “non-compliance with health guidelines and protocols and disease prevalence”.

Ten schools were closed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and three in Sindh. A day earlier, the NCOC said 22 schools were shut since schools reopened on September 15. A major business school based in Karachi announced it would be opting for online learning.

Furthermore, 752 people tested positive for the coronavirus during the last 24 hours, the first time the number crossed the 700 mark since August 15. Nine people died. Total active Covid-19 cases in Pakistan on Friday were recorded as 6,295.

Ghani said students from these grades will be asked to rejoin school on September 28, subject to the Covid-19 situation improving. He said in this period, the provincial government will see how SOPs can be better enforced. The grades were slated to be opened on the 21st. “Our purpose is not to shut down schools permanently [...] we simply seek for them to mend their ways when we see they are not fulfilling their responsibility. They should follow through with the commitments made. “And the following of safety protocols is not to be done for our satisfaction. Our children go to these schools. It is a question of their health and safety,” the minister stressed.

Ghani said children’s health cannot be gambled away to prevent the losses incurred by schools. The minister said the decision will be reviewed before September 28. “I will get in touch with the federal ministers and will request a meeting of the inter-provincial education ministers committee so that a uniform decision is taken across the country.”

Ghani also requested the media to spread awareness and “sensitise” parents, children and the public in general, to properly follow Covid-19 prevention measures. “We want schools to reopen but when they do, we should be free of any worry that if they do go to school they will not be so exposed to the risk of catching any illness.”

The minister said the situation in public schools—while not taking full precautions—“was much better”. “At the same time I will say, not all private schools performed poorly in abiding by the rules. I came away quite impressed by some of them [in the way protocols were followed]. I was very satisfied. Some, however, were completely violating safety protocols,” Ghani said.