Closure, opening of schools: Proposal to let committees at district level look into issue

PESHAWAR: Suggesting formation of an empowered committee at district level to make decisions about closure and reopening of educational institutions, a provincial committee in its maiden meeting on Wednesday stressed the need for vaccination of the staff members and students of secondary and higher secondary level besides extending financial assistance to private educational institutions.

The provincial committee had been formed last month after a protest sit-in by owners and teachers of the private schools from across the province.

However, it was formally notified two days back and its first meeting was held on Wednesday with its head Zariful Maani, managing director, Elementary and Secondary Education Foundation (ESEF), in the chair.

The representatives of Private Schools Regulatory Authority (PSRA), provincial health department and private school associations also attended the meeting.

Sources privy to the meeting told The News that the issue of prolonged closure of educational institutions in view of the coronavirus pandemic was discussed in detail and some workable suggestions were made to overcome the situation.

The participants of the meeting argued that the Covid-19 had become a permanent issue and, therefore, a durable solution should be worked out to manage it. The meeting suggested that empowered committees should be formed at the districts level to take decisions about announcing micro lockdowns locally keeping in view the corona positivity rate.

The meeting suggested that vaccination should be arranged for the teachers and other staff of the public and private educational institutions. It was proposed that students of grade 9 to 12, who are supposed to appear in board examinations, should also be vaccinated at the earliest.

The data of the teachers and students is already available with the education department and the PSRA. The health department officials opined that the vaccination could be done easily. They said this would improve the vaccination rate of the country on the one hand and minimize risk of Covid-19 infection among students and teachers on the other. Also, they felt the students of secondary and higher secondary levels would be able to make preparations for their upcoming examinations.

The education authorities have, however, been unable to make a clear and categorical announcement about the secondary and higher secondary school examinations which have already been postponed twice. The examinations are now expected to be held in June and July. It is also expected that only the students of grade 10 and 12 would take their examinations and the students of grade 9 and 11 would be promoted to the next class on the basis of formula made last year, the sources said.

Another valuable suggestion given by the committee was that one-time support should be given to parents to deposit fees of their kids through vouchers or smart cards. This would support both the parents and schools simultaneously.

It was also discussed that private educational institutions have taken the shape of a vibrant industry providing jobs to hundreds of thousands of people. If the government can extend financial support to construction and other industries, the educational institutions should also be supported so that they could come out of the crisis.

However, the participants of the meeting opined unanimously that the permanent solution of the problems facing educational institutions was to make efforts to reopen these institutions and restore academic activities. They said this could be done by the proposed powerful committees in each district in an effective manner.