Education ministers to mull over winter break on Monday

Islamabad : Amid growing incidence of novel coronavirus among students and teachers, federal minister for education and vocational training Shafqat Mahmood has called a special meeting of the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference next week to discuss the pandemic-related issues and the proposal of early and extended winter vacation for students to ensure their protection from the pandemic.

The meeting will be held on November 16 (Monday) on the National Command and Operation Centre premises to ‘discuss the COVID-19 situation in education sector’, said the federal education ministry.

The ministry has issued letters to the education ministers of all provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan for attending the meeting.

Earlier in the day, federal minister for planning, development and reforms Asad Umar, who heads the government’s response to COVID-19, recommended the early and extended winter vacation this year for the safety of students amid rising virus positivity rate in educational institutions.

During a meeting last week, the education ministers had decided that there would no winter vacation in educational institutions this year due to the pandemic-induced campus closures from March to September.