No need to close schools in Punjab yet: Murad Raas

LAHORE: The Punjab education minister Murad Raas said there was no need to close schools in Punjab as standard operating procedures (SOPs) were strictly being implemented at all educational institutions.

There were 467 coronavirus cases reported among teachers and students in Punjab schools during the last 24 hours according to the education minister in an interview with a private media outlet.

“We are carrying out random testing. When we find there is a single case, we suspend the classes, and if there are multiple cases reported on campus, we temporarily shut down those schools,” he said.

Furthermore, the education minister mentioned that there are 120,000 public and private schools in Punjab, so it is not possible to monitor every institute each day to determine if they are following COVID-19 guidelines.

The education minister stressed that schools will not be closed in all of Punjab because there are coronavirus cases being reported in a few cities as it did not make sense to take such a drastic action.

He added that schools were opened after a lot of hard work and an across-the-board decision at this point is not possible because the numbers simply do not support such aggressive approach.

“I am sending my children to school as well and I think the government took the right decision by reopening schools,” he said while mentioning that he was completely against the idea of any winter vacations.

Read more: NCOC recommends early, extended school winter vacations.

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