Reopening of educational institutions

WHILST the government has reopened different sectors in a phased manner over the last month or so, the educational institutions shut down on 07 March as a precautionary measure against the spread of Covid-19 are still closed. Speaking in the National Assembly on Friday, Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood said the decision with regard to reopening the educational institutions will be taken at the inter-provincial conference of Education Ministers to be held on the 2nd of next month.
There is no doubt that the threat still persists and during a briefing of the NCOC, Prime Minister Imran Khan was informed that Corona cases would increase in the last two weeks of July as well as August. In this background, it is important that the decision regarding the reopening of educational institutions should be taken very carefully and keeping in view the health and safety of the children as the number one priority. It is also true that these institutions cannot be kept shut for an indefinite period as it is affecting the education of students. The online classes started by the government as well as private schools has so far not proved to be very effective as the students are not taking them very seriously. Then there are also issues that the students living in far flung areas have no access to internet facility. Therefore, the suggestion for the government will be to reopen the educational institutions in a phased manner. In the first phase, the universities and colleges should be reopened as well as the schools be allowed to resume classes for ninth and tenth but this should be done under strict compliance of SOPs. Fumigation should be carried out daily in the institutions plus wearing mask be made compulsory for students and teachers. Availability of hand sanitizers must also be ensured. According to the Gallup survey, around seventy per cent of parents have expressed willingness to send their children to schools under the implementation of SOPs. By pursuing the precautionary measures, the administration of educational institutions and parents & students can ensure the success of the first phase and then finally other classes can also be resumed.