Any Hasty Decision To Close Schools Will Destroy Education, Says Shafqat Mahmood

(@fidahassanain)

Any hasty decision to close schools will destroy education, says Shafqat Mahmood

Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood says that six-month closure deeply affect the students, decision to reopen educational institutions has been taken with great care and any hasty decision to close will destroy education.

ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Sept 19th, 2020) Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood said that any hasty decision to close schools would destroy education.

Taking to twitter, Shafqat Mahmood said that the health of students was the government’s top priority and any decision would be made after consulting Health Ministry.

He tweeted: “Health of students is our first priority and any decision we make will be guided by the advice of Health Ministry. Having said that 6 months closure deeply affected the students. Decision to open was taken with great care. Any hasty decision to close will destroy education,”.

He also tweeted: “90% of our govt and low fee paying private schools do not have online teaching facilities. When these institutions close down most students get no education at all. Learning loss is immense and can take years to recover. While health is a priority, this factor must b kept in mind,”.

On Friday, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani announced that the government was delaying resumption of academic sessions of grade six to eight in schools across the province.

While addressing to a press conference, Ghani said that the decision was taken to curb spread of coronavirus as educational institutions have neglected Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

"Students from these grades will be asked to rejoin school on September 28, if the COVID-19 situation improves", the minister said.

The Sindh government had expressed its concern over resuming Primary classes across the province from the last week of September after coronavirus cases were reported at various educational institutions.

Fida Hussnain

Fida Hussnain is a lahore based journalist. He writes on politics, religion, social issues and climate change. He is also a research fellow at University of Gujrat.