PM Khan enthusiastic as students prepare to return to schools

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan is all ready to welcome students back to schools as educational institutions across the country gear up to reopen from September 15. In a Twitter post on Monday, the premier said that it was the government’s “priority and collective responsibility to ensure that every child can go to school safely to learn”. “We have worked to ensure that school operations are aligned with public health safety rules on Coronavirus ” he remarked. Last week, in a meeting with all provincial authorities, Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood announced that educational institutions across the country will open in phases from September 15. Universities, colleges, and class IX and X will resume from September 15. The students from class VI to VIII will be called to schools from September 23 and the students enrolled below class VI will be called in from September 30. A list of precautionary SOPs against the virus has been issued by the government which every school has to follow. It includes social distancing, no lunch breaks or morning assemblies, proper sanitization of premises, and COVID-19 tests for teachers and staff members. Institutions that fail to comply will be fined or even sealed, the minister said. Schools, colleges, and universities across Pakistan had shut down in March after the virus broke out in the country.