Govt to take final decision about resuming primary schools on Sept 29: Shafqat Mahmood
September 27, 2020
LAHORE: The federal government will take a final decision on September 29 on whether or not primary schools should resume operations, Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood said on Saturday.
Speaking at an event at the National College of Arts (NCA), Mahmood said a final decision with regard to resuming classes for grades 1-5 will be taken by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday.
Read more: All educational institutions cannot be closed if COVID-19 persists for a year: Shafqat
The government had earlier announced that primary schools in Pakistan will reopen from September 30 after a final decision is taken by the NCOC.
Speaking on the pandemic, Mahmood said that the government was conducting 30,000 coronavirus tests across the country on a daily basis, most of which were taking place in schools.
The minister stressed that the six-month closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic had caused a massive loss to students, adding that it was necessary to continue the academic year.
'Opposition does not enjoy public support'
The minister, responding to a question, said that the opposition does not enjoy public support, adding that the PML-N and the PPP have been exposed over the last couple of years.
Terming PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif’s recent statements hypocrisy, he said that on the one hand, he while sitting in London is criticizing the state institutions while on the other his people, on their own request, are meeting the military leadership.
Speaking about the rising prices of food and other items, Mahmood said that the government was striving to bring inflation down, stating that economic indicators of the country were looking positive.
Earlier, Shafqat chaired the Board of Governors (BoG) meeting of the NCA in which NCA Principal Prof Dr Murtaza Jafri briefed him about the academic and administrative matters of the college.
He said that the NCA will soon be awarded with the status of a university as work on the legislation required to do so was underway.
