Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas on Wednesday announced that the provincial government has decided to suspend all on-campus educational and learning activities from November 26. The decision will b applied to all academies, tuition centres, seminaries, public and private schools without any exceptions.

The provincial education minister took to Twitter to share the news and also shared a picture of notification issued. In his tweet, Murad said:

“All Public and Private Schools, Academies, Tuition Centers & Madrasas to be closed starting tomorrow 26th November 2020. No exceptions.”

The education minister also made an appearance on a morning TV show today and warned that strict action will be taken against private schools if they failed to comply with the closure of schools and challenged the writ of the government.

The provincial government issued the notification after Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood on Monday had announced to close educational institutes across the country for one month due to increasing cases of coronavirus. The decision was taken during the ongoing Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC) convened to discuss school closures, chaired by Shafqat Mahmood.

"All ministers have mutually decided that to keep all educational institutions, including schools, colleges, universities, and tuition centres closed. However, online classes will continue from November 26 to December 24 after which winter break will start. Schools will reopen on January 11, 2021," the education minister said while addressing a press conference after the meeting.

Shafqat said that the safety and health of pupils is the top priority of the government. He also announced that all examinations, except for a few professional exams, will be postponed. The micro-decisions regarding the examination and other related matters will be taken by the provincial education authorities.