Sindh to continue current policy on educational institutions

Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani said on Wednesday that all the educational institutions across the province will continue to function in accordance with the current policy of the provincial government.

“At present, the situation in Sindh is under control, but if the SOPs [standard operating procedures] are not implemented, it would create problems,” Ghani said while talking to the media after the National Command & Operation Centre’s (NCOC) meeting.

The minister said that it has been agreed during the NCOC meeting that this year no student will be promoted to the next grade without taking their examination.

He said that the number of patients has been increasing in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, so keeping this situation in view, it has been decided that educational institutions in some districts of the country will remain closed until April 11.

He added that the number of Covid-19 patients in Sindh is lower than that in Punjab and KP. “This is why we have decided that all educational institutions across Sindh will remain open as usual, but only 50 per cent students will be allowed at a time under strict SOPs.”

Ghani said that all public and private educational institutions will be bound to strictly implement the SOPs, warning that if any case of coronavirus is found at any school or college, it would be closed and action would be taken against its administrator.

Regarding the schedule of examinations in Sindh, he said that all the exams in the province would be held on the announced time in accordance with the decisions of the steering committee of the school education & literacy department.

A day before educational institutions across the country were to reopen, Ghani had said that the provincial government had decided against acting on the recommendation of the federal administration that all educational activities could be resumed with full attendance.

Addressing a news conference at his camp office, the minister said that the last meeting of the steering committee had decided to reopen the province’s educational institutions in strict compliance with the Covid-19 SOPs.

He said that keeping in view the state of the public and private institutes, the meeting had also decided that only 50 per cent of the students would take classes on any given day. He referred to the federal education minister’s then recent announcement that educational institutions across Pakistan could resume 100 per cent attendance, and that they should continue to comply with the SOPs.

The provincial minister pointed out that on the one hand the federal minister was allowing the resumption of 100 per cent attendance, but on the other, he also wanted continued compliance with the SOPs. How can social distance be maintained with full attendance, asked Ghani.

He said that Sindh’s educational institutions would continue the 50 per cent student attendance policy. He admitted that the number of Covid-19 cases had fallen in the province, but pointed out that the threat was still present. “Until the Covid-19 threat is completely eradicated, educational institutions across the province will continue to comply with the SOPs with 50 per cent student attendance.”