LAHORE: Punjab Minister for School Education Murad Raas on Tuesday said that although coronavirus pandemic has affected studies of students, yet no one will be promoted to next grade without exams this year.
Talking to media persons, Raas said that schools were closed for six and two months during the first and second wave of coronavirus respectively and online classes were started to minimise loss of students.
The provincial minister further said that schools have been allowed only 50 per cent strength as strict implementation of coronavirus related standard operating procedures (SOPs) will be ensured.
The minister sent his best wishes to students and teachers on the first day of school after the two-month break. He urged everyone to keep their masks on and maintain their distance from each other. “By following the SOPs, we are protecting each other from Covid-19. Be safe. My best wishes are with you,” he said.
It is worth mentioning here that educational institutions from grade IX to XII were reopened on Monday across the country after a two-month break under strict compliance to the coronavirus SOPs. The institutions were shut in the wake of the second wave of Covid-19 in November. Last week, the federal government had approved a plan to resume on-campus learning to avoid further loss of education.
According to the plan, grade I to VIII and higher educational institutions will reopen on February 1. It was decided that the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) will re-evaluate data in a week and decide whether primary schools and higher education institutes will reopen on February 1 or not in cities, where infections rates are high.
On Sunday, Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood had also tweeted and sent his best wishes to students. “Tomorrow [Monday], classes 9 to 12, O and A level go back to school/college. Wish them the very best. Their future is our main priority,” he had written in the tweet.
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