The decision to close down schools amid rising cases of coronavirus will be made today in the intra-provincial conference of the education ministers, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood will chair the ministers’ conference.

The education ministers moot will deliberate upon the standard operating procedures (SOPs) in force in the educational institutions.

According to sources, the meeting will consider different options tightening the implementation of the SOPs in the educational institutions.

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The sources in Education Minister, however, informed that the ministry has so far received no proposal for any province to shut down the educational institutions.

The educational institutes across Punjab province had reopened Monday last after the summer vacation. The school staff and administrations had been strictly advised to ensure the implementation of the COVID-19-related SOPs to contain the COVID-19 Indian Delta variant.

The entry of teachers and other staff have been banned in the schools without COVID-19 vaccination certificate, while only 50 percent of the students were allowed to attend the schools in a bid to ensure social distancing.

The colleges and universities had also reopened.

Last week, Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas had rejected an extension in summer vacations in the wake of COVID-19 and announced the reopening of all public and private schools in the province from August 2.

An inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference had decided to not extend the summer vacations of educational institutions and all schools had been instructed to open from August 2, Monday.

The decision was made in a meeting chaired by Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood. All provincial education ministers, including Gilgit-Baltistan’s minister, attended it.

Earlier, the Sindh government shut down all educational institutions from July 26 in the province.

Reporter Saba Bajeer