Sindh to commence exams as per schedule

Educational institutions in Sindh will remain closed till August 19 in light of increasing coronavirus infections, announced Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah on Sunday. However, intermediate exams across the province will resume from August 10 (tomorrow), he added.

Addressing a press conference, Shah, who took charge of the department last week replacing now Information, Labour and Human Resources Minister Saeed Ghani, said that schools and colleges in the province may potentially reopen on August 20.

But, he added, a meeting will be held then to review the situation on ground post Ashura and the guidelines issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) before a final decision is made. The provincial government had notified the closure of school on July 24 as coronavirus infections spiked across Sindh.

It had, however, stated that examinations would be held as scheduled. Shah's press conference came on the heels of a meeting held by him and Sindh Universities and Board Minister Ismail Rahu with the chairpersons of all district education boards in the province.

The chairpersons of Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Larkana, Sukkur and Shaheed Benazirabad educational boards assured the ministers of their preparedness to resume examinations from tomorrow. The meeting was apprised that two to three exams of Grade XII were yet pending in various districts while Grade XI exams would be held after Ashura.