Schools lacking online facilities can call students once a week, PEIRA

Authority directs institutes to ensure implementation of SOPs when students attend school

ISLAMABAD: The Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) on Thursday allowed educational institutes which do not have the facility of online teaching to call students one day a week for assigning school work.

The government, on November 23, had ordered the closure of all educational institutions across the country from November 26 till January 10 next year and 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.

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A notification issued by PEIRA directed educational institutes to ensure the implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) when students attend school.

The regulatory body also barred education institutions from calling students during winter vacations, which would commence from December 26 and end on January 10, 2021. It also urged them to continue the education of students through online classes.

Earlier in November, the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC), allowed schools to call students for one or two days during the week but said the final policy in this regard would be at the discretion of the provincial education departments. It was also announced that the winter vacations would be from December 25 to January 10.

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“These institutions will remain closed from November 26 to December 24 while from December 25 to January 10 the winter vacations will be observed. There will be no physical attendance of students in any class,” Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood had told a news conference after the meeting.

“The students of schools, colleges, universities and tuition centres will be free from attendance since they will continue studies from home. Students of vocational educational institutions would, however, continue their on-job training at vocational institutes,” he had added