Punjab’s Education Minister Murad Raas on Tuesday confirmed the cities where schools will remain closed for classes 1 to 8 until Eid. The decision will be reviewed after two weeks, he added.
Students from grades 1 to 8 will continue online education in public and private schools in:
- Lahore
- Rawalpindi
- Gujrat
- Gujranwala
- Multan
- Bahawalpur
- Sialkot
- Sargodha
- Faisalabad
- Toba Tek Singh
- Rahim Yar Khan
- Dera Ghazi Khan
- Sheikhupura
Meanwhile, students from grades 9 to 12 will attend in-person classes in private and public schools two days a week, on Monday and Thursday, from April 19. This will apply to schools in:
- Lahore
- Rawalpindi
- Gujrat
- Gujranwala
- Multan
- Bahawalpur
- Sialkot
- Sargodha
- Faisalabad
- Toba Tek Singh
- Rahim Yar Khan
- Sheikupura
- Dera Ghazi Khan
The minister also announced that exams for Matric and Intermediate students under the Punjab board, and O and A-Level students under the Cambridge International Assessment Exams (CAIE) board, will proceed as scheduled throughout Punjab.
NCOC meeting
Earlier today, a meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) and all education ministers was held to review the opening of educational institutions in light of rising COVID-19 cases in the country.
Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood, in a press briefing after the meeting, announced that educational institutions will resume studies for grades 9-12 from April 19 and exams will be held in May.
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 Exams 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 confirming that the decisions regarding exams were final.
“This decision will not be changed so no one should have any uncertainty in their mind. Everything has been done keeping [the] interest of education in mind,” he wrote. “My very best wishes to everyone.
