Provinces To Be Part Of Final Decision For Reopening Of Schools In Sept: Shafqat Mahmood

Provinces to be part of final decision for reopening of schools in Sept: Shafqat Mahmood

Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood Friday said that the federal government would consult with all provinces before taking any final decision on reopening of schools on September where strict SOPs would be prepared and their implementations for the safety of students

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Jul, 2020 ) :Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood Friday said that the federal government would consult with all provinces before taking any final decision on reopening of schools on September where strict SOPs would be prepared and their implementations for the safety of students.

Talking to a private news channel, he said that government would not compromise on the health of students as our priority has always been the safety and security of students and teachers under these COVID-19 circumstances.

The strict SOPs would be designed by the federal ministry but provincial governments would be allowed to alter them as per the situation in their respective provinces, he said.

"We are now trying to realign the whole learning process, the instructional process, the way children will be called to schools with strict SOPs, we are working on all this and holding meetings with consultation of provinces including Sindh government," he added.

He warned that any school or academic institution that was found guilty of violating SOPs would be shut down by authorities.

He said we need to learn to 'live with coronavirus' but reopening of schools with a reasonable precaution was a step in the right direction.

He also mentioned that parents need to be taken in confidence and they should be explained about the risk factor with facts.

The government was looking at several options including scheduling classes for different standards on alternate days, he said, adding that there were also suggestions of holding classes in open air.

Replying to a Question, minister emphasized on the government's efforts in bringing improvements to the quality of education, adding that a market-oriented same curriculum education system would be provided to students so that they could find jobs easily.

He assured government would soon introduced a uniform national curriculum for grades one to five where students of private and public would equally get education in their schools.

He said that the federal government would soon enact a uniform curriculum throughout the country.

A uniform education system would end inconsistency between public, private schools and madaras was the top priority of the incumbent government.

He stressed that unified curriculum was the ultimate solution to bring a unity among all the classes of society.