Coronavirus: Education ministers to mull over early, extended winter vacations in schools
The NCOC has also recommended closure of shrines and cinemas across Pakistan due to second COVID-19 wave
November 12, 2020
ISLAMABAD: Amid the mushrooming coronavirus cases among students and teachers, the federal minister for education and vocational training Shafqat Mahmood has called a special meeting of the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference next week.
According to news reports, the moot will discuss the pandemic-related issues and the proposal of early and extended winter vacation for students to ensure their protection from the pandemic.
The meeting will be held on November 16 [Monday] inside the National Command and Operation Centre premises to ‘discuss the COVID-19 situation in the education sector’, said the federal education ministry.
In this regard, the ministry has issued letters to the education ministers of all provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan for attending the meeting.
Earlier in the day, federal minister for planning, development, and reforms Asad Umar, who heads the government’s response to COVID-19, recommended the early and extended winter vacation this year for the safety of students amid rising virus positivity rate in educational institutions.
During a meeting last week, the education ministers had decided that there would no winter vacation in educational institutions this year due to the pandemic-induced campus closures from March to September.
