All pre-primary, primary, secondary classes in Sindh to be resumed from Sept 28

KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Education, Labor and Literacy, Saeed Ghani Friday said all classes, pre-primary, primary, secondary and above would be resumed in the 3rd phase from September 28 across the province.

This, he said while addressing a press conference held here.

“Initially, the decision was taken to reopen the schools in three phases”, he said adding in the first phase, the classes of universities, colleges and IX and X were resumed on September 15, while reopening of schools in the 2nd phase on September 21 was delayed due to rising cases.

"In third phase, we are announcing to resume all classes from pre-primary to universities," the minister said.

Saeed Ghani said there were still a lot of problems in multiple schools but the government would ensure that all coronavirus SOPs were strictly followed by all educational institutions.

He further said "We have left a lot of decisions to the schools and parents to implement the SOPs voluntarily."

The minister said urged the school managements and parents to create awareness among the children regarding importance of following the precautionary measures.

Saeed Ghani suggested the parents to stop letting students travel in vans and buses, and instead advised the parents to pick and drop children themselves.

The schools not following the SOPs would be fined or even sealed; he said adding “I will make surprise visits to both public and private schools to review the situation”.

There was still option for the parents to send their children to schools, he said adding if they feel unsafe, then they could continue with the online classes as nothing comes before the health of our children.

After classes resumed, the number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan spiked but the number was on decline, he added.