Punjab To Open Schools By Mid-September If Covid Situation Remains Manageable

Punjab To Open Schools By Mid-September If Covid Situation Remains Manageable
Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas on Wednesday said the schools across the province would reopen on September 15 if the coronavirus cases remained under control.

According to the minister, the province will reopen schools tentatively from September 15, but the final decision would be taken after reviewing the Covid-19 situation in the province.

In a tweet, the education minister said that the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will be followed in schools when they reopen and it will be conveyed to public and private stakeholders. He added that this was the official information so far regarding the reopening of schools across the province, calling all other news “fake”.

Earlier, Raas had rejected reports of the government reopening schools in the province from August 15, saying that it will happen only if the coronavirus conditions are "manageable".

In July, the provincial and federal education ministers had agreed on a proposal to reopen the educational institutions across the country in the first week of September amid strict observance of anti-coronavirus measures.

The decision was taken during an inter-provincial education ministers’ conference presided by Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood. However, two more meetings would take place before September 1 to finalise the SOPs.