LAHORE: Provincial Minister for Schools Education Dr Murad Raas has said that educational institutions in Punjab will re-open for students in three phases from January 18 while matric and intermediate board examination would begin in June 2021.

“In the first phase, secondary and higher secondary schools from class 9-12 will be opened from January 18, junior schools from class 1-8 will start teaching from January 25 while students will return to universities from February 1”, he said while giving out details of decisions by the inter-provincial education ministers conference here on Monday.

Educational institutions were closed yet again in the province in the wake of second wave of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic from November 26 to January 10 as a precautionary measure to ward off spread of the virus at a large scale. The schools were scheduled to be re-opened from January 11 which have been delayed a week further.

The Education Minister further told the media that annual examination 2021 of the Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISEs) for matric and intermediate classes would start across the province from June next.

Urging the public to follow government SOPs as the threat of spread of the coronavirus loomed large, the education minister, however, warned that schools will be closed down in case of another surge in coronavirus cases in the province.

He said all the provinces were unanimous in their opinion that schools and universities should be re-opened as other businesses had been allowed to operate under smart lockdown policy of the government.

The School Education Minister said that students faced great academic loss due to closure of educational institutions during the past one year, adding that many small private schools were forced to be closed down in the wake of financial constraints due to non-payment of fee during the lockdown.

He said the private school teachers, in many cases, were not paid salaries due to closure of schools.