Decision on educational institutions to be made on August 8, says Ghani

Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani said on Wednesday the educational institutions in Sindh would remain closed until August 8.

In a statement, he said that the Covid-19 situation in the province, especially in Karachi, was still unsatisfactory; therefore, officials of the School Education and Literacy Department and the Sindh Task Force on Covid-19 would review the situation.

Ghani said that as the situation improved, the rescheduled Secondary School Certificate and Higher Secondary School Certificate Annual Examinations 2021 would be

conducted immediately.

He stated that the number of Covid-19 patients in Karachi and Hyderabad was much higher than in other provinces of the country. Considering this situation, Ghani said, they were not in a position to open the educational institutions at present, and the task force would meet on August 8 to consider the situation and plan for the future.

At present, no one would be allowed to reopen the educational institutions, and police would take action against those who violated the standard operating procedures that the provincial government had put in place to check the spread of the coronavirus.

What schools want

On Tuesday, a representative body of the province’s educational institutions in the private sector demanded that Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani allow the resumption of educational activities soon after the current lockdown ends.

All Sindh Private Schools & Colleges Association Chairman Haider Ali said in his statement that the new academic year that was to start on August 2 should begin on August 9, adding that a new semester should also be started at universities across the province on August 9.

Ali said the future of university students is in jeopardy due to the loss of two consecutive years. An unimaginable academic loss cannot be tolerated by the private education sector for the third year in a row.

Citing official statistics, he said that 70 to 80 per cent staff members have been vaccinated, but the future of over 15 million students of Sindh is still at risk due to repeated closures of educational institutions.

Therefore, physical classes and on-campus activities should be resumed at public and private educational institutions subject to compliance with the Covid standard operating procedures and 50 per cent attendance, he added. Ali said that the schedule for practical examinations of the ninth and 10th classes should be issued so that the remaining intermediate exams and practicals could be completed on time.