LAHORE: Thousands of students in Punjab province have dropped out of schools due to fear of COVID-19 as educational institutes failed implementation on standard operating procedures (SOPs).
According to the details, Punjab has the highest number of deaths due to coronavirus as compared to other provinces. The majority of parents have dropped their children out of school in view of SOPs violations. It has been revealed that the number of students in government schools in Punjab province has been steadily declining due to fear of COVID-19.
Sources said the number of dropped out students in Rahim Yar Khan reached 22,000, while more than 18,000 Lahore. Sources claimed that a total of 600,000 students have dropped out of school in the province.
The Punjab government also seems to be worried about the worst situation of education. Rahim Yar Khan district came first in the province in terms of declining education of children in government schools while Lahore, the provincial capital, came second.
On the directive of Punjab Education Minister Dr. Murad Rass, the School Education Department has set a target of 1 million children to register which will be completed in the next 5 months. However, due to the increasing trend of children dropping out of school, it seems impossible to achieve the target, sources added.
Sources said the Punjab government had issued new coronavirus guidelines for all public and private schools and universities; however, the administration failed to comply with SOPs.
Parents said, “They are quite worried about their children’s health. SOPs are blatantly ignored; the number of students and staff infected are concealed to avoid being sealed; students are threatened with consequences.” They demanded officials concerned to take solid steps for saving students’ education and lives.
