Private schools reject closure
Observer Report
The Sindh Education Department has decided to suspend physical classes upto grade 8 of all schools in the province from April 6.
The classes will remain suspended for 15 days, said Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani in a tweet.
He said children’s education will continue through online classes, homework and other means during this period.
Earlier, the Pakistan Observer had reported that the provincial government was considering to close schools till class 8 as coronavirus cases continue to increase in the country and Sindh.
Sources say a proposal was given to announce a closure of schools till class eight in a meeting of the steering committee of the Sindh Education Department, which was held under Ghani’s chair.
During the meeting, two proposals regarding closure of schools in the province came up.
Last month, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho had suggested to the NCOC that schools should be only be closed if at least three people — students or teachers — test positive for coronavirus.
The health minister had also suggested it would be better to postpone the examinations for two weeks — and a single exam should be conducted with strict adherence to COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs).
However, the Private Schools Association has on Sunday rejected the Sindh government’s order to halt academic activities in educational institutions for two weeks amid the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
The association in its statement said that at the end of the academic year, schools cannot be shut for two weeks or more. “Schools should be kept open until the imposition of complete lockdown.”
Already 20 million children did not return to schools after the closure of educational institutions due to the outbreak of the pandemic.
The Private Schools Association has urged the government to adopt a smart lockdown policy, rather than shutting down the schools.
It was further said that the closure of schools has already resulted in the unemployment of several teachers.
