Schools to remain closed after June 1 Sindh

KARACHI: The Sindh government has announced that all educational institutions in the province will continue to remain closed after June 1 amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

In a notification issued on Friday, the education department said the date of reopening of the schools would be announced in consideration of the coronavirus situation in the province.

It also said the students from grades one to eight have been promoted to their next classes.

Separately, while meeting a delegation from the Karachi Board of Catholic Education, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani said that the risk of reopening educational institutions could not be taken at the moment. Adding that the department was not in a position to give a date for the reopening of schools, he said the final decision would be taken in the education steering committee’s meeting.

Appreciating the measures taken by Ghani following the outbreak, the delegation highlighted the financial crisis schools were facing due to the lockdown. The representatives explained that parents would not take the matter of paying school fees seriously unless their children were not physically going to school and asked to be allowed to reopen under standard operating procedures (SOPs).

They added that the government should not only provide financial assistance to schools but also make it mandatory for parents to pay school fees on time.

Ghani responded that the department had requested parents to pay fees several times, adding that even if schools were reopened with SOPs, students commuted in vans where they could not properly follow the guidelines.

Discussing the demand of financial assistance, he said the provincial government could not afford to provide interest-free loans or financial aid, but the federal government could do so if it wished.

The minister also explained that while the laws regarding the promotion of students in grades nine to 12 had to be amended, the formula has been finalised and would be announced soon.

In March, the federal government had extended the closure of all educational institutions across the country till May 31 with the consensus of all provinces, in a bid to stem the spread of the virus.

Earlier this month, the majority of provincial educational departments had opposed the reopening of educational institutions in the country from June 1 in a meeting chaired by Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood, stating that coronavirus cases may dramatically increase.

It was decided at the time that the matter would be tabled during the National Coordinating Committee (NCC) meeting.

Private schools demand to reopen by June 15

Government and private educational institutions should be allowed to reopen by June 15 while following standard operating procedures, stated All Private Schools and Colleges Association Sindh chairperson Haider Ali on Friday.

Ali claimed that the management and compliance for the SOPS “did not require any rocket science,” adding that sanitisers, disinfectants, thermal guns and face masks could be arranged in every school and college.

He insisted that social distancing could also be practices at schools by dividing students in two shifts, further saying that students would not need breaks for recreation when they only spent a limited amount of time at their school or college.

According to him, students with coronavirus symptoms could be given leave, while SOPs could also be defined separately for school vans.

With additional input by Rija Fatima