School enrolments at rock bottom

Parents averse of enrolling children in schools as coronavirus threat persists

RAWALPINDI:

The rate of new admissions in public and private schools has remained poor until now as the parents wait for the elimination of coronavirus from the country.

The target for new admissions from nursery to matric class in all public schools across Punjab seems unachievable under current circumstances.

Officials at the Punjab education ministry told The Express Tribune that around 50 per cent of public schools in the province were such that they did not receive a single new admission.

The educational institutions are also experiencing low attendance since their reopening from September 15. Provincial education ministry officials said that government schools had started accepting new admissions a week before the resumption of academic activities after a six- month break. They said that they were expecting that the rate of new enrolments would rise upon the reopening of institutions.

But, the hopes have not come true one week after the educational activities resumed. Representatives of private schools managements also said that parents preferred getting their children enrolled in private schools situated in their localities, but this year fresh enrolments have been negligible.

In this regard, Punjab SES Teachers Association President Shafique Bhalwalia confirmed that the pace of new admissions in schools was quite low. However, he hoped that it would increase and the targets of new enrolments for the current academic year would be met until the deadline of October 31.

Further, All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association (APSMA) President Abrar Ahmed Khan also confirmed the development and said that the coronavirus situation had brought a significant drop in new admissions.

He added that repetitive statements regarding the closure of schools again have made parents reluctant to send children to classrooms. Therefore, the parents were reluctant to get their children enrolled in the current situation.

“I am afraid to get my child enrolled until the government announces the elimination of the pandemic in the country,” a parent Asad Ullah told The Express Tribune.

Another parent, Asghar Qayyum was of the view that people should wait for the situation to improve for new admissions once the situation improved.

Teachers, students checked

The coronavirus tests of some 500 teachers and students of different schools have resulted back negative on Saturday, The Express Tribune learnt.

The health department had sent some 500 swab samples, of school staff and students, to the Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) for the detection of the pandemic virus. All of the results resulted back negative.

Meanwhile, the health department has issued strict instructions to the educational institutions to implement Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) devised by the government to prevent coronavirus spread.

District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Naveed Ahmed said that the collection of swab samples through random sampling was underway in all educational institutions in the district.

He added that the educational institutions have been advised to shift any staff member or student having fever or cough to the hospital. The institutions have also been barred to let infected individuals rejoin until full recovery.