Friday, the provincial government of Punjab decided to close down all schools for a week. The decision comes amid the worsening Covid situation in the province.
All the government and private schools in Punjab will remain closed from September 6 to September 11. Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas announced the decision on Twitter today.
“All Public & Private Schools of Punjab to be closed from September 6th to September 11th, 2021 due to COVID 19 conditions,” the minister tweeted.
He also appealed to the public, particularly the students to stay at home and stay safe. “Protect yourself and your families,” he further said.
ANNOUNCEMENT:
All Public & Private Schools of Punjab to be closed from September 6th to September 11th, 2021 due COVID 19 conditions. Please stay home and stay safe. Protect yourself and your families.— Murad Raas (@MuradRaasMR) September 3, 2021
Read more: How will private schools react to NCOC decision? Speculation rife
According to official reports, the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department detected 1,368 cases today after conducting 22,549 tests.
The number of active cases in Punjab stands at 24,650 with a 6.1% positivity ratio while Lahore reported 9.0%, Rawalpindi 9.9%, Multan 3.4%, Faisalabad 5.5%, and Jhang 22.9%.
Read more: Pakistan’s daily COVID-19 cases increase sharply as transport opens
Reaction to schools closing down again
People of Punjab expressed their anger at the news. Their anger seems to be justified as the schools across Pakistan reopened on August 2. As a result, students had recently returned to their routines and schooling came back on track.
However, with another week of closure, students will face a disruption in their studies. Moreover, students and teachers both already face difficulties in online classes owing to connection issues and lack of adequate interaction.
In this regard, teachers also voiced their concerns and requested the government to re-think the decision, especially for junior classes. Junior classes are an important stage of education as they build the foundation for learning.
Read more: Revamping education in Pakistan through digitalization
ہم ٹیچرز کی درخواست ہے سوئم،چہارم ،پنجم کو بالکل چھٹیاں نہ دی جائیں۔ 😥
بہت مشکل سے 1 ماہ کی محنت رنگ لانا شروع ہو رہی ہے اب بچوں نے کچھ ریسپانس کرنا شروع کیا ہے۔ SOPs بھی فالو ہو رہے ہیں۔— 🎀 نَمل زَہرہ 🦋 (@BolnaZarooriHai) September 3, 2021
مراد راس صاحب کوئی خدا کا خوف کریں، پرائیویٹ ٹیچرز کو بدحال کر چکے ہیں آپ پہلے ہی، اب نئی تباہی کا آغاز کر رہے ہیں آپ۔
کیا کورونہ آپ کی حکومت کے ساتھ ہی جائے گا۔
نہ لیں غریب کی بد دعائیں۔
اس ملک میں پرائیویٹ غریب ٹیچر بھی ہیں۔— Rana Adnan (@radnan7010945) September 3, 2021
Moreover, some Twitteratis criticized the government for the decision as they claim that the Covid situation will not get better in 5 weekdays. They also questioned why the sanction was on schools only while political rallies are in full swing in the country.