Punjab students not to be promoted without exams: Musarrat Cheema

APP

Web Desk

March 24, 2021

Students wearing facemasks gather outside a school as they prepare to return home after attending class, amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, in Lahore on November 25, 2020 — AFP

ISLAMABAD: Punjab government spokesperson Musarrat Jamshed Cheema on Wednesday said students in schools across the province would not be promoted without taking examinations.

Talking to a private news channel, she said that exams might be delayed for a while but would be held.

Schools will be open in areas where the ratio of coronavirus cases is low, she added.

Cheema said the coronavirus positivity rate in Punjab is 9.5%, which is an alarming sign.

The provincial government is strictly following the directives of the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) for containing the disease, Cheema said.

“Wedding halls, restaurants and offices are closed, whereas, indoor activities have also been restricted," she added.

The third wave of coronavirus is more lethal than the previous ones, she said.

Schools to remain shut in high risk areas

Earlier in the day, in a meeting of health and education ministers at the NCOC, it was decided that schools in Pakistan that are located in coronavirus hotspot areas will remain closed till April 11.

The meeting to debate the closure of schools came amid an alarming rise of coronavirus cases in the country.

The number of COVID-19 active cases has doubled in the last three weeks while the positivity ratio has remained above 8% in the last few days. According to the NCOC data, the number of active cases was 17,352 on March 6 which reached 36,849 on Wednesday.

Mehmood said the government will hold a meeting with the Cambridge exams board to see whether examinations can be postponed or not.

Board examinations of classes nine to 12 will be held as per the timetable, he said.

Punjab govt names nine districts where schools will remain closed

Separately, the government of Punjab announced the names of nine cities where schools will remain closed till April 11.

Punjab Minister for Education Murad Raas took to Twitter shortly after the meeting held earlier today, to reveal the names.

"All public & private schools of Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Sargodha, Sheikhupura will remain closed till April 11th, 2021. The remaining districts will be open on the previous schedule," he tweeted.