The four provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, agree to open educational institutions in September

ISLAMABAD: A decision has been made on Wednesday to reopen educational institutions across the country in the first week of September with strict Standard of Procedures (SoPs) in Inter-provincial Conference held in Islamabad.

The meeting has been held in Islamabad under the leadership of federal minister for education Shafqat Mehmood. All provincial educations’ ministers including Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir and chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) have participated in the conference.

Sources privy to the conference told News Diplomacy that all participants and stakeholders agreed upon to reopen the educational institutes from first week of September with strict SOPs, while the final the approval would be taken in tomorrow’s (Thursday) meeting of National and Command Operation Centre (NCOC).

According to the sources, it is decided in the meeting that before opening the educational institutions, the corona situation will be observed. While, with SoPs exams will be allowed.

The decision to call two more meetings before September has been taken in the conference. However, due to severity of corona virus the proposed dates can be changed, the meeting decided.

Furthermore, Sindh education minister Saeed Ghani has suggested in the meeting to provide relief and loans without interest rate to small schools, however federal minister Shafqat Mehmood has rejected this upon the bad economic situation. While the federal minister has ensured that to provide relief and loans to small schools will be intercede to Prime Minister Imran Khan.