Staff Reporter Islamabad
All schools went back to five-day regular classes across the country from Monday, except in Sindh province.
According to the Ministry of Federal Education, the decision applies to every educational institution in the designated cities where restrictions had been imposed.
However, the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the ministry against Covid-19 are fully applicable on schools with a special emphasis on use of masks, physical distancing and hand washing.
Given the coronavirus situation and health hazards, however, attendance of children in educational institutions in Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Rawalpindi was reduced to 50 percent. Last week, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani opposed the decision of the federal government allowing schools to resume 5-day regular classes from March 1.
He said the announcement has “created confusion among students.” Ghani said schools will only allow 50 percent attendance, adding that regular classes cannot resume due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In March last year, all educational institutions had been shut down to curb the spread of the Covid-19 disease. However, citing a drop in the daily cases of coronavirus, authorities decided to reopen the schools in a phased manner a few months later.
The country has reported a similar trend in recent weeks, with 1,392 new infections recorded on Monday compared to a peak of more than 6,800 daily cases in June last year. As of Monday, the total tally stood at 581,365 cases of the coronavirus, with 12,896 deaths recorded.
Last week, the country relaxed it’s time limits for amusement parks and commercial activities and allowed offices to resume work with 50 percent staff capacity.
Meanwhile, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), which oversees Pakistan’s coronavirus response, said last week that cinemas and shrines would be allowed to reopen from March 15 as well, as long the anti-coronavirus checks are in place.
“Wearing of mask, social distancing, smart lockdowns will continue and will be ensured,” the NCOC said on February 24.
