Zubair Qureshi
The Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) and Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) have allowed the government and the private sector schools to resume classes from nursery to class-VIII.
The schools will stay open until July 1 and classes will be held with 50 percent strength of students for six days a week, it has been further decided.
The FDE through a notification dated June 4, 2021 conveyed the decision “taken at NCOC that all educational institutions working under the ambit of FDE shall resume their educational activities for classes I-VIII and BS/ADP in addition to already ongoing SSC and HSSC classes w.e.f June 7, 2021 in staggered manner and in compliance with the already notified SoPs.”
In the notification all heads of institutions are advised to direct their teaching staff to devise strategies to cover syllabus with a schedule of classroom assessment to diagnose weak areas of the students.
While talking to Pakistan Observer, an official of the FDE requesting not to be named said the classes will be held with 50 percent strength and no student will be allowed to attend the classes for two consecutive days.
“We have formed two groups in each class and each group will attend the school for three days,” said a principal of an Islamabad Model School.
According to the notification, it is pertinent to mention that classroom assessments shall be designed and conducted during routine classes without interrupting rest of the classes of the day.
“Exemption in working hours already notified shall not be allowed whatever the case may be.
Moreover, decision regarding annual examinations for class I-VIII shall be communicated as soon as advice is received from the competent authority.
Similarly, PEIRA has also notified that in pursuance of the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC), all private educational institutions of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) up to Intermediate or equivalent level shall resume/reopen in staggered manner from June 7, 2021 subject to strict compliance of already issued SOPs.
In a statement the private educational institutions have welcomed the decision made in the Inter-provincial ministers education conference saying the decision would not only benefit the students, all those teachers and staff of the private schools and colleges would also return to normal life disturbed the pandemic for almost two years.
The teachers and staff of the small private educational institutions were under a great financial burden due to closure of their institutions as it denied them monthly salaries and thus resulted in financial setback.
