Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas on Tuesday
hinted that schools across the province may be closed for an extended period of
time. This was said by the minister while he was addressing a ceremony
on the teachers retirement system in Lahore. ‘I want to open schools;’
he said. ‘However; we may have to go with the option of extending the closure
of schools; given the current circumstances;’ added the minister. Raas said
that personally he was not in favour of closing schools; adding that the
pandemic had wreaked havoc on children's education. ‘A joint meeting of all
education ministers will take place on January 4 where the decision to extend
schools closure or not will be taken;’ he added. The minister said that the
provincial government suspended examinations for grade V according to the
assessment policy. ‘When it came to the exams of fifth graders; teachers were
helping students cheat;’ he said; explaining the Punjab government's decision. The
minister said that the Private Schools Act will be sent to the cabinet for
approval. He said that the legislation will get the government's nod within
three months. Raas said that private schools can now get registered with the
provincial government online; adding that 31,000 private schools had done the
same. Speaking more about Punjab government's measures for education in the
province; he said that a ‘Child Education Book’ had been launched which met
international standards in quality of education. He told participants of the
gathering that from next year; teachers' retirement cheques will be deposited
directly into their accounts. Coronavirus in Pakistan: Schools will remain
closed until January 10, 2021 Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood
had announced earlier that schools across the country will remain closed until
January 10, 2021; in the wake of the rising coronavirus cases. ‘All ministers
have mutually decided that to keep all educational institutions; including
schools; colleges; universities; and tuition centres closed. However; online
classes will continue from November 26 to December 24 after which winter break
will start. Schools will reopen on January 11, 2021;’ Shafqat Mahmood had said.
The decision was taken during the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers
Conference (IPEMC) convened last month to discuss school closures. Shafqat
Mahmood had said that children's health and safety is the top-most priority of
the government; adding that examinations scheduled to take place in December
will be postponed, with the exception of a few professional exams. During the
meeting; it was decided that micro-decisions regarding examinations and other
matters will be taken by the respective province.
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