An important Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC) that was supposed to take place today (Thursday) has been postponed for unknown reasons.
The Federal Ministry of Education called an emergency meeting on Wednesday to review the COVID-19 situation in educational institutions across the country. According to media reports, important decisions regarding school closures were to be made during the meeting, which was scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. However, it has now been postponed by a week, according to Shafqat Mahmood, Minister of Federal Education and Professional Training.
Also Read: Punjab Education Minister Announces Personal Decision on School Closure
The following issues were also on the meeting’s agenda:
- Interprovincial consultation to ensure timely delivery of high-quality textbooks in the academic year 2022.
- Coordination between provinces to ensure timely provision of NOCs for textbooks.
- Any other agendas, with the Chair’s permission.
In other news, the fifth wave of COVID-19 is wreaking havoc in the country, with 3,019 new cases reported in the last 24 hours increasing the virus’s positivity to 6.12 percent.
Statistics 13 Jan 22:
— NCOC (@OfficialNcoc) January 13, 2022
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 49,270
Positive Cases: 3019
Positivity %: 6.12%
Deaths :5
Patients on Critical Care: 651
This is the highest positivity ratio since September 8, 2021, when it was 6.43 percent. The country last reported over 3,000 cases on September 10, 2021, when 3,480 people tested positive for COVID-19.