NCOC ‘satisfied with anti-Covid measures’

Private owners vow to defy decision of school closure

QUETTA:

The National Command and Operation Centre expressed full satisfaction with the efforts of the Balochistan government to counter the risk factor of the coronavirus during a meeting held in Islamabad on Monday.

According to the directorate general public relations (DGPR) Balochistan, the federal ministers attending the meeting appreciated their dedicated efforts of the province in the fight against the deadly pandemic.

Balochistan has registered 16,810 coronavirus cases, since the disease emerged in the country, while the provincial death toll stood at 158. However, during the second wave of the disease, the province’s positivity ration had jumped to an alarming 7.5%.

Briefing the NCOC meeting and inter-provincial ministerial meeting in Islamabad through a video link, Parliamentary Secretary for Health Dr Rubaba Khan Buledi expressed concern over the second wave of Covid-19.

The NCOC meeting was chaired by Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar and attended by Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for health Dr Faisal Sultan and others.

Dr Buledi informed the meeting that positive coronavirus cases in Balochistan have been rising rapidly. She highlighted how the risk factor of the coronavirus is similar in cold and warm regions of the province.

The parliamentary secretary for health also told the meeting that various education institutions are reluctant to conduct tests for coronavirus in the province. “Health teams are being forced to return back,” she said. She also emphasised the need for implementing the NCOC decisions across the country.

Closure of schools

On the other hand, the Chairman for Private Schools Bahadur Khan and President Dawood Shah Kakar denounced the government's decision to close schools from November 26.

“There will be nationwide protests if the government cancels the registration of any school,” they said while addressing a press conference at Quetta Press Club on Monday. "Schools were closed till September 15 due to the coronavirus. We had told the education minister that if schools were to be closed again, they should not be reopened.”

Kakar said that he also met Education Minister Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind earlier and told him that the smart course for children has been completed but testing is left.

He added that the policymakers are making a mistake by closing down schools. “Children of bureaucrats are studying in big educational institutions. For eight months, a large amount of fees of these children have been accumulating in the banks but what about us,” he questioned. “How can we pay rent, salaries of teachers and other expenses.”

Kakar said that Rs1.11 billion belonging to the education department has been kept in a private bank instead of being utilised to solve our problems. “The Board of Intermediate has collected millions of rupees for registration and it intends to promote children again next year without conducting examinations.”

Citing how the Punjab government provides land to the people for building educational institutions, he said the Balochistan government has never laid out this opportunity for the people.

Shah added that they will keep schools open in the province till December 15. “If the government tries to obstruct it, we will protest with the opposition parties and the public.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 24^th, 2020.