School winter vacations: NCOC recommends 'early, extended' closure of schools for winter season

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) announced on Wednesday that it is recommending “early and extended winter vacations” for schools due to the rising positivity ratio being reported from educational institutes.

The body decided that Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood will chair a special session with provincial education ministers on November 16 where the recommendation will be put forward. It also said that the meeting of the ministers will also “assess and review the positivity ratio prevailing in educational institutions”.

The NCOC decided to put forward the recommendation after Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar chaired a session of the body which reviewed the “epidemic curve data and disease prevalence in country including education sector”.

According to a statement, the NCOC was informed about the “increasing positivity ratio in educational institutions” and the need to stop the trend. The body also shared that it will share with the provinces its recommendations, after “consultative discussions”, for “consequent decision and enforcement”.

Read more: Shafqat Mahmood issues clarification as coronavirus cases rise

“The forum, taking into account rising positivity ratio, suggested for an early and extended winter vacations to reduce impact of disease spread and ensure safety and health of students,” said the NCOC statement.

Education ministers decide to keep schools open

In a meeting last week, Pakistan had decided to keep the schools open in the country.

The meeting was presided by Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood and was attended by his provincial counterparts as well.

The decision was made unanimously by all provincial education ministers after health ministry officials briefed the participants of the online meeting on Pakistan's coronavirus situation.

The meeting had also ruled that there would be no winter holidays in Punjab, while a decision on whether there would minimal number of winter holidays or none at all would depend on geography of the respective provinces.

The meeting's participants had agreed at the time that in the current situation, there was no need to close educational institutes. However, coronavirus has been spreading rapidly since, with the number of new cases rising sharply. 

Read more: Sindh minister hints at school closure amid COVID-19 surge

KP mulls early winter vacation

It was also reported last week that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government is considering announcing early winter vacations in schools.

Read more: UN, World Bank urge to keep schools open despite COVID-19 risks

The option was discussed at a meeting of the provincial task force on COVID-19, which was chaired by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan.