Saeed Ghani said in a statement that the Sindh government had already made the announcement to halt regular classes from Class 1 to 8, however, the educational activities will be restored from April 22.

The district administration has the powers to take its own decisions after witnessing a rise in coronavirus cases. He said that the pandemic situation is under control in Sindh as no district is specifically affected by the virus.

The education minister said that the positivity rate of COVID-19 cases in educational institutions stands at 2.6 per cent. He announced that the academic process from Class 9 to 12 will be continued and examinations will be held as per schedule.

Saeed Ghani reiterated that no student will be promoted to the next level without appearing in the examinations.

Earlier in the day, Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood announced that on-campus classes for grades from nursery to eighth at all private and government schools in Covid-19 affected cities will remain suspended until April 28.

Speaking to the media after chairing a meeting of health and education ministers at the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), he said students of classes 9-12 will have to come to schools.

“On April 28, we will again review the Covid situation and decide whether to keep schools closed until Eid,” the minister said. He added on-campus classes for grades nine to 12, which were previously suspended in Covid-19 hotspots, will resume from April 19 so students can prepare for their board exams.

Around 4 million children take part in exams for classes nine to 12 across Pakistan, he said, and announced that the exams will start from the third week of May (after Eid). O-level exams will also be held as per the schedule. NNI