Students call on UHS to delay all professional exams

• "Student lives matter too," says one Twitter user
• Students call on University of Health Sciences to postpone exams 
• Earlier today, the government announced it was reopening schools and educational institutions this month in a phased manner

Students on Monday took to social media to demand the University of Health Sciences (UHS) postpone all scheduled examinations in light of the novel coronavirus, as the government announced reopening schools, colleges and other educational institutions in a phased manner.

Read more: Govt decides to reopen schools in phases

#DelayAllProffsUHS started trending today, with Pakistani Twitterati calling on the university to postpone the examinations in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Prime Minister's Special Assistant on Health Dr Faisal Sultan tweeted that the government would discuss medical colleges' examinations in an important meeting tomorrow.

One person said that it wasn't possible for students to study in the current pandemic environment, raising alarm at the lack of SOPs being followed in hostels.

"Are medical students not humans?" asked another person.

Twitter user @oyebajwey raised his voice against conducting physical exams when lectures had been delivered online to curb the spread of the virus.

One person tweeted: "Medical students' lives matter too."

Govt decides to reopen schools in phases

Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood had earlier today announced that schools and educational institutions will reopen across the country in three phases.

"On January 18, classes for grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 — those that have exams — will resume," he had said during a news conference along with SAPM on Health Dr Faisal Sultan. "This means that students of grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 will go to their schools and colleges from January 18 and their studies will resume."

He had said that in the second phase, students of primary classes till grade 8 will return to schools from January 25.

The minister had said that universities and other higher education institutions will reopen from February 1 in the third and last phase.

Reopening schedule:

• Online learning can resume from Jan 11
• Classes 9 to 12 would start from Jan 18
• Classes 1 to 8 would start from Jan 25
• Higher education classes at universities and colleges to start from Feb 1
• Board exams have been postponed to May and June
• Another meeting on January 14 to review the situation