Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood on Monday said the government was considering reopening of schools under the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as COVID-19 cases continue to spike up across the country.

The minister said suggestions had been sought from the seminaries (Madaris) and private institutions of all provinces.

Mahmood said a meeting had also been scheduled with the Ministry of Health in this regard, and that the decision would be taken in light of the NCOC data.

He said the education ministry, through UNICEF, was in consultation with those countries which had opened schools under various SOPs.

He added that consultations were also being held with the UNICEF on the policy of the government.

“We want to end uncertainty on the basic important issue like education,” he said.

The minister said according to the Gallup Survey, around 70% of parents were willing to send their children to school under the implementation of SOPs.

Sindh announces online classes for government schools

Earlier this month the Sindh government had announced to start online classes for government schools, as students numbering in the thousands are forced to stay at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Online classes will be held for grades 6-12,” a notification from the Sindh education department read.

The online classes were launched with the help of The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Microsoft, with 75 masters trainers to train teachers regarding on holding online classes.

IT experts had also been hired to conduct the online classes, the notification read.