'70% parents want to school open, so we'll look for it in July, Federal Education minister told in an interview.
Fedreal minister Shafqat Mehmood latest tweets tells his plans:
' We'll take suggesions from provincial governments, corona emergency response forces and international health organizations regarding SOPs to open the schools and will decide by early July,' Shafqat Mehmmood tweeted.
MODEL SOPs for schools"
According to media sources and a tweet from Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood hoped private schools to reopen from 15th July, 2020. Ministry of education is formulating 'Model SOPs" for schools to avoid the spread of coronavirus in schools. Government is planning to open the schools from 15 July 2020 following the "model SOP school program" gradually in phases. In the first phase, schools will open in Islamabad following model SOP after lockdown. After considering the results, this model SOP school reopening program will go through all areas of Pakistan.
Many private schools have notified the parents regarding their preparation to open the schools from 15th July, 2020. Here is a "The City School" notices, issued on 15th June, claiming to open the school by July,20.
Final decision will be announced on Ministry of education meeting in July. This news is a sigh of relief for private school owners and teachers at first place. Private schools and teachers are one of the most affected part of long covid-19 lockdown holidays. About 1 million teachers have lost their jobs and are unable to grab any penny from school for last three months since the school closed from 15th March. Only big private school were able to collect fees with 20% discount and continued to pay deducted salaries otherwise 95% of small chains and street private school couldn't get any fees. Parents withdraw their kids for not paying only for online classes in private schools. Many private schools are or are about to shut down for not managing rents even. Many parents think that, afraid of "no school, no fees" campaigns, schools may be tricking the parents by such notices.
There is not any final date of school reopening but private schools are continuously protesting and asking the government to let them open the schools with "model SOPs" that can be reduced working hours, 2-3 days a week school and proper daily disinfection, sentizing, social distancing has let government to work on different options and to open the schools by the end of summers, most probably in August/September. This will relax schools and parents both if schools will open with proper model SOPs as schools have opened in almost all European countries, UK, and China following strict SOPs amid fighting against Covid-19.