ISLAMABAD: The federal education ministry and Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) have started work on content development for online classes to mitigate the academic loss of students.

According to FDE, content selection would be based on curriculum and efforts were being made to make it nationally acceptable. It said talks with Pakistan Television (PTV) were in the final stage to run a channel in mid-April which will air lectures from 8am till 6pm.

FDE spokesman Saqib Shahab said online lectures will be delivered for Islamic Studies, English, Urdu, Mathematics and Science subjects.

He said Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood, education secretary, parliamentary secretary and technical adviser are in direct contact with the team responsible for content development.

Lectures from the best teachers of FDE run schools and colleges will be broadcast, he added.

Meanwhile, officials from the teaching community raised questions over Ministry of Education’s notification stating, “education institutions will remain closed till May and these holidays will be treated as summer vacations.”

Teachers pointed out that summer vacations are meant to avoid the hot temperature and these holidays cannot be treated as summer vacations.

“We are with the education ministry and FDE at this critical stage, we are ready to cooperate with them to ensure mitigation of students’ loss. However, there is need to clarify the notification as summer vacations are linked with weather only,” said Federal Government Teachers’ Association President Malik Ameer.

He said teachers are ready to sacrifice a major portion of their holidays to help students in completing their course.

“Like doctors, teachers will be on the front line. Currently, we are facing a national crisis and we will play our due role in helping students,” he said.

It is hot in Islamabad during June, July and August, he said, adding in case schools opened during these months classes must start early at 7am and end at around 10am because the heat will get unbearable for students later in the day.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2020