The Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC) held earlier today to mull over the closure of educational institutes amid the resurging Coronavirus in the country has ended without a consensus on the issue.
Following the meeting, Punjab Education Minister, Dr. Murad Raas, addressed a press conference and hinted that educational institutes would not be closed. He said that the students have already suffered a lot of academic loss in the last two years on account of the closure of institutes.
The Minister said that the academic process should continue uninterrupted and students must ensure the wearing of facemasks on the premises of institutes and during their commute. He also added that federal and all provincial governments must ensure the COVID-19 vaccination of all students above aged 12 years to avoid the outbreak of Coronavirus in educational institutes.
Meanwhile, two colleges have been sealed in Islamabad after a number of cases were confirmed among students. The District Health Office (DHO) Islamabad has sealed Islamabad Model College for Girls located in G-6/1-4 and F-6/2 with immediate effect and till further orders.
According to credible sources, the IPEMC has sought fresh data regarding the COVID-19 vaccination rates among students in educational institutions all over the country. The IPEMC will meet again tomorrow to decide whether to shut down the institutes or keep them open.
Note here that the IPEMC was set to meet last Thursday to mull over the closure of educational institutes amid the rising number of Coronavirus cases.
The IPEMC was postponed till this week just hours before it was originally scheduled to meet. The reasons behind the delay were not specified initially.
However, it came to light that the Federal Education Minister, Shafqat Mahmood, had tested positive earlier on Thursday which resulted in the postponement of the emergency meeting.
The IPEMC was held again earlier today which ended without any decision. All eyes are now set on tomorrow’s meeting as students and parents expect the educational institutes to shut down as the Coronavirus spreads across the country.
