Educational institutions cannot be kept closed for a year if the COVID-19 problem persists until the health crisis rises to a level that forces the government to close schools and colleges, said Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood.
“Take the example of Europe where the second wave of the coronavirus is said to be raging. But their schools are open,” said the minister, speaking to private news channel'.
“We give health a great priority. That’s why the government said it would review the situation on September 22 in accordance with the advisory of the Ministry of Health. The National Command and Operation Centre is gathering the required data.”
He said, however, the results that are being received from across the country do not necessitate an immediate decision for the closure of educational institutions.
It should be mentioned here that the Sindh government has decided not to reopen schools in the second phase for classes 6-8 until September 28.
The provincial government had said it will contact the federal government about resuming secondary education classes if the infections persist.
Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani, addressing a press conference Friday, had said that the infection rate in schools is 2.4. The provincial minister urged the federal government to act to stem the spread of the virus.
Closing schools 'easiest thing to do'
The federal minister lamented the provincial government’s decision as "a knee-jerk response", saying that they should have consulted the Centre so that the response is uniform.
“As many as 31,549 tests were conducted nationwide in public schools. Of them, 118 tested positive. This amounts to 0.7% – an average infection rate across the country,” he said. Closing schools is the easiest thing to do, he said.
After Sindh’s decision, Shafqat said he talked to other provinces who replied that they would follow the action plan that had already been decided by all stakeholders. He said that the COVID-19 situation was not as grim as it was being portrayed.
“However, wherever we see a problem, including the lack of implementation of coronavirus SOPs or a rise in infections, we will go for a micro lockdown by closing down a school,” he maintained.
Talking about the negative effects of announcing the closure of schools, he said that parents panic and think the pandemic has gotten out of control if such decisions are taken.
