Centre did not take ‘unilateral decision’ on schools

Education minister says there is no substitute for open schools

ISLAMABAD:

Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood on Sunday said the federal government did not take any unilateral decision regarding education during the Covid-19 pandemic as it had always taken on board all the provincial governments.

Talking to a private news channel, he said that there was no substitute for direct education from open schools and online classes could affect the education of students.

On November 23 during the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC), chaired by Mahmood, it was deiced that all educational institutions across the country would remain closed from November 26 till January 10 next year. The IPEMC also directed for holding online classes until December 24 to reduce the chances of students being infected during the second wave of the coronavirus, which global as well as local experts fear, worsens during the winter season.

The decision was taken in a meeting of the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC), chaired by Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood. It was decided in the meeting that schools would be closed from Thursday until December 24 but classes would continue online.

On striking a plea bargain with the opposition, the minister said that the government would not allow any National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) to those who had looted national wealth ruthlessly during their governments.

“The government is ready to hold dialogue with the opposition on other issues but it will not make any compromise over the accountability process of corrupts,” he added.

Mahmood said democracy was the name of rule of law and every one was equal before it.

To a question, he said that the opposition's proposals regarding amendments in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws were not acceptable for the incumbent government because they wanted to make the accountability institutions toothless.

He said opposition should show responsibility during the second wave of coronavirus and avoid holding public gatherings. (With input from APP)