• Sindh Education Department's steering committee to take final decision in a few days.
• Sindh health minister had, a day earlier, said schools will not reopen till provincial government isn't sure COVID-19 cases are on the decline.
• NCOC had directed provinces to keep educational institutions closed till June 6.

KARACHI: With just a few days left till June 7, confusion still remains among the masses on whether or not schools throughout Sindh will reopen that day or not.

The Sindh government has not yet issued a final verdict on whether or not it will reopen schools from June 7, with sources saying the Education Department's Steering Committee will take a final decision on the matter in one or two days.

"The Steering Committee will decide on whether or not schools should be reopened or not [on June 7]," said a source.

On the other hand, several schools have asked parents to send their children from June 7.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) had last month, asked provinces to refrain from reopening educational institutions in districts with high COVID-19 infection rates.

The NCOC, in a letter sent to the provinces, had said educational institutions in the districts where the coronavirus positivity ratio is high, should remain closed till June 6.

"The districts where the infection rate is less — below 5% — can reopen educational institutions (on May 24)," NCOC had said in a notification sent to the provinces.

Sindh will ease coronavirus restrictions if people get vaccinated: Pechuho

However, on Thursday, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho said the provincial government will not reopen schools till it was certain that coronavirus cases are on the decline.

"Schools will remain closed until we (the Sindh government) are certain that the numbers (of coronavirus cases) are decreasing and won't increase," she had said.

Pechuho had said that despite the efforts of the government, people are still hesitant to get themselves vaccinated.

The health minister had also said Sindh would ease restriction once people start getting themselves inoculated but said that the positivity ratio in Karachi was still high.

"The coronavirus positivity ratio in Karachi is still above 11%," Dr Pechuho had said, adding that Sindh is yet to see an improvement in this regard.

"Hospitals are still receiving coronavirus positive patients."

Speaking about the COVID-19 restrictions which are in place across Sindh at the moment, Dr Pechuho had said restrictions would only be eased when people will start getting themselves vaccinated.

"People aged 30 and above can now go to walk-in vaccination centres, while people aged 19 to 29 can now get themselves registered for the vaccine."

Shedding light on the arrangement that Sindh is making to inoculate people, Dr Pechuho said that the government has started negotiating with industrialists.

Recently, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani had also said matriculation and intermediate exams in Sindh would be held from July.