The federal government has decided to close all educational institutions across Pakistan from November 26 to January 10 next year due to increasing cases of corona virus. The ruling will also apply to madrassas and government educational institutions.
An important meeting of the Ministry of Education on the closure or reopening of educational institutions was held in Islamabad today (November 23). The meeting was attended by Dr. Faisal Sultan, Provincial Ministers of Education and representatives of private schools through video link. At the beginning of the meeting, a proposal was made to close schools in stages, which was agreed upon by all the provincial education ministers. Addressing the meeting, Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood said that no compromise was made on children's health.
After the meeting, in a press conference with Health Advisor Dr. Faisal Sultan, the Federal Minister for Education announced that after the increase in Corona cases across Pakistan, educational institutions will be closed from November 26, while from January 11 next year. Educational institutions will be reopened.
Shafqat Mehmood added that from November 26 to December 24, children will be educated at home and students will be able to study online from home, while December 25 to January 10 will be the winter holidays.
He said a review meeting would be convened in the first week of January. The December exams have been postponed, while the annual exams will be held from January 15 next year in 2021 and the new academic year will be extended to August. 
Punjab Education Minister Murad Rass has announced on November 23 that a meeting will be held again in January to reopen the school. He was not in favor of closing the school. Private schools did not report the case. No one can challenge the government's writ. Online education will continue during the holidays. Children should not be allowed in malls or parks. Seventh and eighth grade exams will be held in March next year. There will be ninth and tenth grade exams in May and June. Teachers will attend educational institutions on Mondays and Thursdays. Graded homework will be provided during the holidays. The standard of graded homework will be 50%. Progress in the next class will depend on graded homework. The exam will have 50% MCQs.
In an exclusive interview with Private Schools Associations Sama, Tariq Shah, head of All Private Schools Association, said that schools all over the world have been kept open and Karuna SOPs are being strictly followed in private schools. Tariq Shah further said that the closure of schools would harm the education of the children. We do not accept the decision.
Earlier, Balochistan Education Minister Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind had said that winter vacations in educational institutions would start from December 1 next month and the new academic year would start in March next year after a three-month vacation.
Wedding Halls Closed in Punjab The Punjab government has banned celebrations in wedding halls on Friday, November 20. SOPs must be implemented in open space events. According to the new orders, 300 people will be allowed to attend the celebrations. Weddings and other celebrations will only be allowed in open spaces. A ban notification has been issued.
Earlier, in a meeting on November 23, it was suggested that winter leave be given earlier and more than usual.
The first suggestion in the meeting was to grant leave from November 24 to January 31. According to the second proposal, primary schools should be closed from November 24. Consideration has also been given to proposing holidays in middle schools from December 2, while closure of higher secondary schools from December 15 has also been considered.
Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood had written in his tweet that he would hold a news conference at 12 noon to inform the people about the decisions. The government's concern has also been heightened by the second wave of cases.
Talking to media on Sunday, the Punjab Health Minister said that there should be holidays in educational institutions, while medical experts also agreed with this position. He said that not only the children but also their families were in danger due to the school being open. The epidemic is spreading, children will have to take holidays.
Earlier, a meeting of the Ministry of Education was held on November 16, in which suggestions regarding educational institutions were sent to the provinces. It may also be mentioned here that a meeting of the Sindh Education Department on November 21 agreed on a proposal not to grant winter vacations across the province.
Participants said that schools and colleges in Sindh should not be closed. SOPs in schools and colleges will be tightened, but schools that want to teach online can do so.