Suspension of classes of eighth grade and below extended till May 1

The regular classroom-based teaching up till eighth grade in the government and private schools in Sindh will remain suspended till May 1, 2020 due to surging Covid-19 cases in the province.

The announcement to this effect was made by Sindh Education and Labour Minister Saeed Ghani in a statement issued on Sunday. The statement read that the provincial education department had held a meeting to consult the relevant federal and provincial, ministers, authorities and experts before taking such a decision.

The teaching for the students of up till eighth grade, however, will continue during this period through homework-based study assignments and different methods of online education, using email, WhatsApp and other modes of electronic communication.

The regular classroom-based education of students of ninth till 12th grades in the government schools and colleges in Sindh will continue in this period with 50 per cent attendance. The education minister said the prevalence of the coronavirus cases in Sindh had been less compared to the Covid-19 infection rate in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. He, however, added that the recent increase in the infection rate in Sindh was alarming.

He said the public and private educational institutions were under obligation to observe the safety precautions against the spread of the novel coronavirus to safeguard the health of

students, school staff and visitors.

Before the decision to extend the closure of schools till May 1, the classroom-based teaching of students of up till eighth grade in both the government and private schools in the province was supposed to resume on April 22.