ISLAMABAD: Universities in the southern Pakistani province of Sindh will reopen on Monday, October 11 with 100 percent attendance, the Sindh universities and boards department announced on Sunday, as the country’s COVID-19 positivity rate dropped below 2 percent.
The Pakistani government last month decided to reopen educational institutes across the country from September 16 after the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), which oversees Pakistan’s pandemic response, reviewed the COVID-19 situation in a meeting.
The provincial government in Sindh had decided to delay the reopening of educational institutions. However, it has now decided to reopen all universities in the province.
“All public and private universities/institutes under the administrative control of the Universities and Boards Department, Government of Sindh, are hereby allowed to resume regular academic activities with effect from 11.10.2021 with 100 percent attendance,” the Sindh universities and boards department said in a notification.
It said the relaxation was subject to “strict observance” of COVID-19-related safety measures and in line with decisions made at an NCOC meeting held earlier this week.
Additionally, vaccination of students aged 12 and above shall be mandatory, the notification read. Educational institutes will establish dedicated counters in this regard.
Last week, Planning Minister Asad Umar announced that the NCOC had allowed educational institutions to resume normal classes from October 11.
“Based on the reduced level of disease spread and the launch of the school vaccination program, it has been decided in today’s NCOC meeting to allow all educational institutions to start normal classes from Monday the 11th of October,” Umar said in a Twitter post.
The development came as the country’s virus positivity rate dropped to 1.8 percent. According to NCOC statistics, 40,584 tests were conducted across Pakistan in the last 24 hours, out of which 767 were positive.
Pakistan reported 19 deaths from the virus on Sunday.