For the last 6 months, life as we know it has been turned on its head. And while everyone adjusted to a new reality, one of the biggest concerns for parents was their children’s education. So when lockdown was imposed, there were immediately long term conversations held around schools reopening and when such a thing would be possible.
After months of deliberation and changing decisions, the government finally decided to open secondary schools on the 15th of September. A major reason behind this decision has been the inability of government schools to shift to online teaching which means a large part of the student population in the country.
Many kids have missed out on months of essential teaching. This is why on 15th September, the country saw massive schools reopening across all provinces, provided that a strict protocol of SOPs was followed. Or so we thought.
Students across Pakistan head back to school for the first time since March.
Wearing masks and following the SOPs should be ensured by the school authorities. #schoolsreopening #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/gWYmkTJaAv
— Voice of Punjab (@VofPunjab) September 15, 2020
As it turns out, SOPs aren’t being as strictly followed as we hoped they would be. Within 48 hours, NCOC has taken action against 22 educational institutions which were found to not be following SOPs, and the schools in question have been closed down, according to ARY News reports.
According to the NCOC, most of the schools that have been closed again have been in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
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8 teachers from Government Higher Secondary School Rashkai in Peshawar also tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, merely one day after the schools reopening.
Education Minister of Sindh Saeed Ghani has also reported positive cases in Matiari district, after which both colleges where the incidents happened were closed.
8 staff members tested Covid positive in two colleges of District Matiari. Both Colleges have been closed.
— Senator Saeed Ghani (@SaeedGhani1) September 17, 2020
That’s not the only tragedy to strike in the last few days. Areeba Asif, a 15-year-old girl lost her life in a tragic accident on her first day back. The young girl tripped over stairs in her school suddenly and was immediately taken to the hospital but doctors declared her dead on arrival.
Whether or not the government will backtrack on its decision remains to be seen. But this constant uncertainty won’t be good for the future of our youth who are missing out on such a key part of their education.
