Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood has said that educational institutions will resume studies for grades 9-12 from April 19 to prepare students for the annual exams to be held in May.
He was addressing a press conference after a meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) and all education ministers held to review the opening of educational institutions in light of the COVID-19 situation.
The decision to resume in-person classes for nursery to 8th-grade students will be reviewed on 28 April. The meeting will decide whether in-person classes will remain suspended till Eid.
Meanwhile, board exams for Matric and Intermediate students will be delayed until the third week of May and may continue until July, the federal minister added. The provincial governments will decide on the exact exam schedules based on the severity of the COVID situation in the concerned areas, he added. Accordingly, universities will be requested to delay their admission cycles; however, online classes will continue as per the schedule.
According to the minister, O and A-Level exams under the Cambridge Assessment International Education will be held as per schedule. He said only 85,000 students will appear for this exam.
After the press conference, Shafqat Mahmood posted a tweet to share further announcements.
Punjab
Punjab’s Education Minister Murad Raas announced that public and private schools will remain closed for classes 1st to 8th until Eid in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Multan, Bhawalpur, Sialkot, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Rahim Yar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Sheikupura.
“All public and private schools classes 9-12 will be open only Monday & Thursday starting April 19th, 2021 in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Multan, Bahawalpur, Sialkot, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Rahim Yar Khan, Sheikhupura and Dera Ghazi Khan,” he tweeted.
Exams for classes 9 to 12 as well as O and A-Levels will be conducted according to schedule in Punjab, he said.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Education Minister Shahram Tarakai said that schools will reopen on April 19. According to the minister, primary and middle schools in districts with more infections will remain closed till Eid.
He also said that exams will not be cancelled at any cost.
