Shoaib Ansari 
With the country’s education in a limbo, the Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood has said that the decision regarding the reopening of schools will be taken today during a meeting.
The minister will meet with the inter-provincial education ministers and discuss the situation on the ground before announcing whether the schools can be reopened from January 11 onwards.
The government has been in consultation with the health sector experts in order to ascertain the situation in the country.
Minister Mahmood made this announcement while speaking to a delegation of the Private School Association and discussed the way forward for the timetable of school reopening. The private school owners have demanded the government to allow reopening of schools and have guaranteed safety measures at the premises.
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Earlier, they had warned that if there was any further delay in the reopening of the private schools, they will have no choice but to protest against the government while threatening a long march against the federal government.
“The final decision on whether educational institutions should be reopened on Jan 11 or vacations extended till the end of the month will be taken in Monday’s meeting after getting input from the health ministry on the current status of Covid-19,” said an officer of the education ministry.
He further added that the health of students and teachers is important to us. We cannot recommend opening of schools on the pressure of school owners. How can we put the health of children at risk for the sake of the private school owners. Therefore, let me be clear, we will take a decision in the light of the health ministry’s recommendations. The government had shut down schools in view of the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the second wave.
