ISLAMABAD: The federal government has suggested that educational institutions across Pakistan be reopened beginning from January 25, according to sources.
To deliberate over the matter, the federal ministry of education has scheduled an inter-provincial conference on Monday to be attended by all provincial education ministers.
The conference — to be chaired by Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood — will decide on phase-wise reopening of educational institutions as well as finalising the schedule of examinations for the academic year 2020-21.
According to details, it has been suggested that in the first phase, primary schools in both public and private sector should be reopened from January 25, 2021, while in the second phase, middle and secondary schools should be reopened from February 4.
Moreover, secondary and equivalent educational institutions were proposed to be reopened in the third phase. However, a specified date was not mentioned.
The federal government, on the recommendation of the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), had closed educational institutions from November 26, 2020 to January 10, 2021.
Under that plan, schools were to reopen on January 11. However the rising spread of the novel coronavirus across the country has cast a shadow on that decision with federal and provincial education ministers saying that it was “unlikely” educational institutions would be allowed to reopen.
Earlier on Thursday, a private school council demanded the government reopen schools on January 11 as planned and also sought an economic relief package.
