Punjab Minister for Higher Education and Information Technology Raja Humayun Sarfraz announced Thursday that all higher education institutions will be opened from the first week of August.

https://twitter.com/RajaYassir_PTI/status/1276024044874162176

He also said that checking of matriculation papers will start from tomorrow (Friday).

The Punjab government was considering reopening of educational institutions with proper SOPs implementation. However, the federal government had sought suggestions from the provinces in this regard also.

On the other side, Sindh Minister for Education Saeed Ghani already announced that educational institutions would remain closed until the virus is completely eradicated.

There were reports on Wednesday last that the federal government was considering to reopen the universities across the country from July 15. According to details, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has been formally informed in this regard while suggestions have also been sought from universities administrations.

In March 2020, the Pakistani government had closed all the schools, colleges and universities due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The decision was taken in a meeting of the National Security Committee, presided by Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad, Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood said on Twitter.