Educational institutions in Pakistan will remain closed until May 23, according to the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC).
The announcement was made against the background of the current trends in coronavirus cases.
In Today’s NCOC session, it is decided that in view of ongoing disease trends, education institutes earlier closed till 17th May will continue to remain closed till 23rd May 21. Review will be carried out on 18th May 21.
— NCOC (@OfficialNcoc) May 8, 2021
The educational institutions, which are closed until May 17, will remain closed until May 23. The decision will be reviewed on May 18th.
Also Read: Restaurants and Schools have Closed when the Federal Govt. Announced New COVID restrictions
Physical education classes in schools across the country were suspended until Eid al-fitr after experts warned that the third wave of the deadly virus was deadly and spreading rapidly.
We realize that the mobility restrictions put into place from today till the 16th are going to cause inconvenience. These measures have been necessitated by the extremely dangerous situation which has been created in the region with the spread of virulent mutations of the virus
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) May 8, 2021
NCOC announces ‘Stay Home Stay Safe Strategy’ for mobility control from 8-16th May 21 including Eid ul Fitr holidays pic.twitter.com/6yqo4BnV9r
— NCOC (@OfficialNcoc) April 29, 2021
On April 27th, all exams were canceled until June 15th. The O and A exams have been postponed from May and June to October and November, while the advanced and matrix exams will take place after June 15.
Also Read: The Ministry of Education urges Islamabad private schools to cut fees by 20%
Several universities across the country, such as Allama Iqbal Open University and Shah Abdul Latif University, have also suspended classes.
In the past 24 hours, 120 people have succumbed to the new coronavirus while more than 4,000 new cases have been recorded.
The infection rate in Pakistan was 8.54%. The government has encouraged people to stay home and stay safe.
Also Read: Punjab Govt decides the closure of schools in 13 more districts due to rise in COVID-19 cases
All educational institutions across the country closed in late February 2020 after coronavirus cases increased. They were gradually reopened from September 15, 2020.
On November 23, 2020, after the second wave of coronavirus cases hit the country, the government announced that all educational institutions will be closed again from November 26, 2020.
Classes were held online until December 24th, 2020 and the winter break started on December 25th, 2020, and should last until January 10th.
The government said it would hold a meeting to review the decision to reopen the schools on Jan. 4.
The NCOC then decided that schools would gradually reopen, with grades 9 through 12 being the first to reopen on January 18.
On March 10, the government closed schools in Punjab, Islamabad, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for two weeks in the face of the third wave of coronavirus.