Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani on Saturday said the second phase of reopening of schools for classes V to VIII has been delayed until September 28 due to a rise in Covid-19 cases.

Speaking at a press conference in Hyderabad, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani said four more educational institutions in Karachi were sealed today for violating the government-defined SOPs. He said the government allowed only 20 per cent of the schoolgoing children to return to schools for on-campus classes in order to determine whether the SOPs are implemented or not.

“How could we start the second phase of reopening of schools if health guidelines are thrown to the wind with just 20 per cent of the pupils attending classes?” Saeed Ghani questioned, adding they will review the implementation of SOPs next week, after which a decision regarding resumption of secondary classes would be made.

“Our children’s health is more important than education and private schools’ losses,” he maintained. He said they have delayed resumption of secondary classes (V to VIII) by a week, which is not a big issue.

The minister said 14,500 coronavirus tests have been conducted at schools across the province and the results of 5,000 have received. Thus far, 91 people have tested positive for the infection.