Murad Raas says Punjab schools will be closed at once if need be amid coronavirus

• Punjab's education minister says schools to immediately shut down if coronavirus situation worsens
• Says when schools do reopen, it will be with only 50% attendance
• Classes 9-10 will rejoin school from January 18, classes 1-8 from January 25

Punjab's Minister for Education Murad Raas on Thursday said that the schools and other educational institutes in the province would be shut down immediately if the situation necessitates, as the country battles a second wave of coronavirus infections.

The minister, during a visit to a university in Lahore, said that students' education had suffered the most due to coronavirus.

He said that when schools do reopen, they would operate on 50% student attendance.

Speaking about the challenges faced by educational institutes amid the pandemic, he said: "More than 122,000 schools are operating in Punjab, we cannot have two shifts — morning and evening."

The minister said that classes 9-10 would rejoin school from January 18, classes 1-8 from January 25, while universities would reopen from February 1.

Meeting between ministers tomorrow

Meanwhile, Minister for Federal Education Shafqat Mehmood said that a meeting between education and health ministers will be held tomorrow (Friday) to review the coronavirus situation in the country and determine when to reopen schools.

His tweet came as a single question was on the lips of parents and students alike: "Are schools opening in Pakistan?"

The minister said: "While I desperately want education to continue, the final decision will be on health grounds. Students' well being will always be a priority."

Find out more: Shafqat Mehmood says ministers to review coronavirus situation before schools reopen

Raas assures parents of strict SOP compliance

A day earlier, Raas assured parents of strict compliance of COVID-19 safety protocols and urged them to send children to school.

Murad Raas, in a video message, said: “We are reopening schools from January 18 and in the first phase, students of high school will resume classes. In the second phase, the students of primary and elementary schools will resume in-person learning while universities will start classes from Febuary 1.”

The provincial minister said no other sector has shown more discipline than schools in implementing COVID-19 SOPs and told the parents that the government remained vigilant on this throughout the period when educational institutes were opened previously.

"I request parents to send their kids to schools. The corona SOPs will be followed more strictly than before and we are making the best arrangements for the safety of the children,” he added.

Cases on the rise

Shafqat Mehmood's remarks come as Pakistan battles a second wave of the coronavirus with cases constantly on the rise.

The country reported its biggest jump in coronavirus cases in nearly a month today.

Data issued by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) showed that 3,097 people tested positive for COVID-19 across the country on January 13, raising the national tally to 511,921.

The last time Pakistan's single-day tally crossed the 3,000 mark was on December 18 last year when NCOC reported 3,179 infections.

Find out more here: Pakistan records biggest jump in coronavirus cases in nearly a month