Sindh Education and Labor Minister, Saeed Ghani, has opposed the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference’s (IPEMC) decision to close all educational institutions from November 26 due to the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The decision was finalized in the inter-provincial ministerial meeting on Monday, and Saeed Ghani was also a part of it. However, as the Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training, Shafqat Mahmood, announced the decision on TV, Ghani openly went public to oppose it.
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The provincial minister proposed during the NCOC meeting that only those educational institutions with 73 percent enrolment at the primary level should be closed, while classes six and above should continue as usual.
He also suggested students should not be promoted without conducting examinations this year.
“Examinations from grade nine to 12 should not be conducted in May and June next year, but the matter should be postponed and a decision on it taken later keeping in view the situation in the future,” Ghani proposed.
The minister further suggested that all non-teaching activities should stop for a year across the educational institutes.
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Saeed Ghani recommended that small private schools, tuition, and coaching centers be provided soft loans for financial relief, while the federal government should pay the interest.
The IPEMC has decided to close all educational institutes including, schools, colleges, universities, and madrasahs, from November 26 to January 10 amid a rising number of COVID-19 cases. Schools will reopen on January 11, 2021.
All exams scheduled for November-December will be canceled. Meanwhile, the board exams have also been pushed to May-June next year.
The next review meeting of IPEMC will be held in the first week of January.
