SCHOOLS, colleges and universities have been reopened owing to two reasons. First, the education of millions of students across Pakistan was being affected badly for the last six months.

Second, as markets, gyms, restaurants, wedding halls and public offices were allowed to reopen by the government, the demands from Pakistan Private School Association (PPSA) had gained momentum for reopening the schools.

Moreover, a large number of institutions with the strength of 35 million students were unable to manage online learning owing to scarce resources.

Employers of private educational institutions were of the view that if other businesses could be permitted to resume activity, why were only they an exception. A majority of staff, including teachers, had come under financial constraints as they were not being paid salaries by the private schools because of closure of institutions.

It was a wise decision to reopen institutions considering the importance of education. Besides, a lot of students did not have good Internet facilities, computers, laptops, and android phones. Furthermore, imparting online education from class one to class eight was also an uphill task.

Nevertheless, despite reopening the institutions, there still exist myriad problems, especially at school level, that might become an obstruction to the implementation of preventive measures.

According to surveys, 65 per cent of government schools across Pakistan are deprived of basic facilities. As most students studying at government schools belong to poor families, they cannot afford masks on a daily basis as per government instructions. It will be an impossible job for the students from class one to five to maintain social distancing. Under such critical conditions, the reopening of institutions is not safe.

According to the Pakistan Doctors Union, although there is a dramatic decline in coronavirus pandemic cases, the risk is largely present until the anti-coronavirus vaccine is developed.

Resumption of educational activities may lead to a second and third wave of coronavirus across the country. Doctors are of the view that children are prone to this virus fast. Therefore, they have advised against reopening schools at primary level.

However, to ensure the implementation of SOPs, federal and provincial governments should help education departments to procure the required preventive materials, including disinfectants, masks, sanitisers, detergents, temperature guns, and medication facilities to diagnose the students on the spot.

The government needs to widely and consistently adopt and devise a comprehensive long-term strategy that is holistic and all encompassing, best at containing coronavirus transmissions from teachers to students and from students to students.

Waseem Shabbir
Gujranwala

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2020