The Sindh High Court has lifted the stay it had granted against the Sindh government’s order to schools to reduce their monthly fee by 20% during the coronavirus pandemic. The court had issued the stay order after private schools had challenged the government’s directives. On Thursday, the court ruled that there was no need to continue with the order since the provincial government had approved the Coronavirus Emergency Relief Ordinance, 2020.
The Sindh government launched a mobile educational application for kindergarten to grade five students in the province. The learning app can be downloaded on an android device. Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani said in a press conference that the students will be able to gain a real time experience through this application. The minister added that development was made as there were slim chances of reopening schools amid the pandemic.
The National Coordination Committee (NCC) has decided to close all education institutions till July 15 and cancel all board exams. The decision was taken as coronavirus spreads in the country. Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood also confirmed that all board examinations have been canceled. He said the decision has been taken on the consensus of all provinces.
TikTok star Ghani Tiger’s father was gunned down in Sialkot two days ago. Police have arrested three people nominated in the FIR while the affected family has continued its appeals for justice. The incident happened in Sialkot’s tehsil Pasroor. A children’s squabble two days ago led to firing which killed Ghani Tiger’s father Dawood Butt while five people, including Ghani’s brother, were injured.
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has halted several universities’ online classes after receiving various complaints from students. The decision was taken due to the low-quality content, delivery, and connectivity on various subjects.The commission will now directly intervene, as announced by the chairman Dr. Tariq Banuri. The May 31 deadline is for universities that need time to establish an online learning management system.
Higher Education Commission (HEC) has asked for detailed information on the courses from universities in order to inspect the quality of the content, delivery and connectivity of the online classes. The decision was taken in response to a number of complaints regarding the classes conducted online in some universities. If a university is found unable to deliver good quality online lectures, they will be directed to halt such lectures until the requisite conditions are met.
Examinations will be rescheduled after June 1, according to the Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood. The decision was taken as Pakistan’s tally of confirmed coronavirus cases continues to rise. The minister said that the foreign institutions and domestic boards are bound to implement the government’s decisions and the examinations may be scheduled between June 1 and July 15, 2020 if the situation improves.
Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) examinations scheduled to held in May/June have been postponed, Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood tweeted Tuesday evening. He said Cambridge will announce the new dates for the exams and the decision to postpone O and A level was taken in a meeting where Ms Uzma Yousaf, head of Cambridge in Pakistan, was present.
The Lahore High Court has ordered a stay order on the ongoing admissions of private medical colleges. A petition was filed against the Punjab government’s new policy for admissions. A student, Afan Ahmed, who passed with 82% marks on the admission test has said that he was given admission in his third priority college.
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has announced scholarships opportunities of fall-2020 for PhD studies in top-ranked US universities under US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor Project. According to sources, the scholarships will cover living stipend, health insurance, settlement allowance and airfare. Under the project as many as 10,000 scholars will be sent to the US top-ranked universities till 2024 with the effort of the Government of Pakistan to train its faculty resources in identified subject areas.