ISLAMABAD: Education and health ministers on Friday decided to extend the opening of pre-primary to eight grade classes till Feb 1 while classes 9 to 12 will reopen on Monday as per schedule.

The ministers took the decision at a virtual meeting held at the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in the federal capital.

After the meeting, Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood told media that classes 9 to 12 would resume as per the already announced schedule on Jan 18 (Monday). He, however, said pre-primary to eight classes would open on Feb 1 instead of Jan 25, along with institutions of higher education.

He said during the meeting it was noticed that in some cities the rate of Covid-19 was higher than others, adding that another review meeting would be held next week to discuss the situation.

l Another review meeting to be held next week l ‘Smart approach’ being considered in cities with higher infection rates l Classes 9 to 12 to commence from Monday

The minister hinted that the government could opt for a ‘smart approach’ under which cities with higher infection rates could be asked not to open the pre-primary to eight class schools and higher educational institutions from Feb 1.

The minister said at present the daily Covid-19 cases were about 3,000 in the country, adding that all stakeholders and the government were cognisant of the fact that students had already faced loss of education last year.

He said the government opted for a balanced approach under which the education system should remain open but not at the expense of the health of students and teachers. Due to the closure of schools, the learning level of students had decreased, he added.

Mr Mahmood said opening of class 9 to 12 schools had been allowed from Jan 18 as contrary to last year’s policy, this year students would not be promoted without exams.

The minister said classes 9 to 12 exams would be conducted by boards, therefore, schools were allowed to resume classes to avoid further loss.

It is relevant to note here that this year the government had decided to start academic sessions from August instead of April as board exams had already been delayed from March-April to May-June.

Some educationists said the start of academic session from August should be a regular feature otherwise the students would lose time. They said if the session started in August it would mean students would have only seven months before the next academic session commenced from March.

“So, the start of the academic session from August should be a regular feature otherwise this change will disturb the academic calendar of 2022,” said an official.

A schoolteacher said the education ministry should also look into the issue of age bar placed by many schools, particularly missionary schools, for admitting students at the nursery level. He said if the academic session is started in August, many students who are eligible in March for admissions will be overage by then.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2021