The federal government has decided to reopen schools in the first week of September under strict standard operating procedures (SOPs).
The provincial education ministers announced this during a joint press conference on Monday after a consensus was reached between federal and provincial governments. The session was convened and presided over by the federal minister for education, Shafqat Mahmood.
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The meeting reviewed the coronavirus situation in the country and noted that the pandemic situation is improving with every passing day.
As a result, it was decided to open educational institutions in the second week of August or the first week of September under SOPs. Sources said that more sessions will be convened. Still, a final decision will be taken with the permission of the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC).
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Currently, the NCOC has not agreed to open educational institutions. All educational institutes across the country were closed from March 13 due to coronavirus lockdown, and have remained so for five months now. Online classes were introduced to minimize the damage to the educational process.
However, the virus situation is now under control after which the Punjab government has decided to lift the lockdown in the province. A notification has been issued in this regard, according to which, the lockdown will be lifted from August 5.