Capital’s education officers told to visit seven schools every day to monitor SOPs

 ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI: Primary schools will open within the Twin Cities today (Wednesday) within the third phase of educational institutions reopening, following months pack up thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) has directed all area education officers to go to a minimum of seven schools a day to make sure that health guidelines and standard procedure (SOP) to limit the spread of Covid-19 are being implemented.

A total of 193 FDE-run primary schools in Islamabad will reopen.

FDE officials said that the city’s six area education officers are told to go to a minimum of seven schools per day. additionally , a team of FDE directors and officers from the Ministry of Federal Education and therefore the capital administration will visit schools also .

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Primary schools reopen in Twin Cities today under third phase

Teams from the Private institution regulatory agency (Peira) also will visit primary schools, officials from the authority said.

They said that it might be harder to enforce social distancing in primary schools compared to high schools, colleges or universities, particularly with students in nursery up until third grade, which is why teachers will need to make a special effort.

Islamabad-based educational institutions have reported quite 30 cases of Covid-19 out of around 15,000 tests.

Minister for Federal Education Shafqat Mehmood said that the positivity rate is 0.8pc in educational institutions across the country.

At a news conference in Islamabad, he said that out of 171,436 tests administered in educational institutions - not including primary schools - 1,284 have come positive for Covid-19.

He said school administrations, teachers and fogeys must be more attentive from Wednesday, when primary schools reopen, because young children cannot follow SOP and practice social distancing on their own.

Rawalpindi

SOP has been issued and arrangements are made by the district administration and education authority as primary schools open in Rawalpindi.

Commissioner retired Capt Mohammad Mehmood told Dawn that the govt had asked that preparations be made for primary schools to reopen.

He said special arrangements are made for younger students, but parents must also educate children on safety measures. He said teachers and faculty staff are directed to elucidate safety measures and social distancing to students.

He said the utilization of masks, hand sanitiser and other SOP are going to be monitored, and first schools are going to be checked a day .

He added that Covid-19 testing is constant in educational institutions in Rawalpindi as a part of the Punjab government’s goal to see all the faculties , colleges and universities within the district.

Seven out of two ,913 people tested for Covid-19 are positive since the opening of faculties and colleges on Sept 15, he said, while 2,744 were negative and therefore the results of 162 are awaited.

Mr Mehmood said teams are working to gather samples from educational institutions. He said randomised testing has been administered in 49 colleges and universities. He said the testing process has been slow because capacity cannot exceed 120 tests per day.

All the results are going to be received during a day or two, Mr Mehmood said.

Randomised testing will continue in schools where classes for sixth, seventh and eighth graders resumed on Sept 23.