Punjab education minister says closure of schools may be extended

Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas said on Tuesday that the closure of educational institutions in Punjab may be extended due to the current coronavirus situation.

He said this at the opening ceremony of the retirement system for teachers of the province. Rass further said that personally, he would not want the schools to remain closed. But, he said given the current circumstances, they may have to go with the option of extending the closure of schools, Geo reported.

Last week, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani too had said that it was unlikely that schools would reopen next month as per the decision taken earlier by the government. He further said that the COVID-19 situation in the country has become serious as cases are being reported from all cities.

On Monday, Educational Minister Shafqat Mahmood announced that the Inter-provincial Education Ministers conference will take place on January 4 to decide on the reopening of educational institutions.

On November 23, the government had announced to close educational institutions across the country amid the second wave of the coronavirus. "We have decided to keep all educational institutions, including schools, colleges, universities, and tuitions closed. However, online classes will be carried out from November 26 to December 24," the federal minister announced in a presser.

From December 25 till January 10, 2021, there will be winter vacations. Then from January 11, if the situation improves, we hope we can once again open all educational institutions, Mahmood said.