Education Minister of Punjab Murad Raas expressed shock over people demanding the government to shut down schools. His statement comes as people raise concern over the smog situation in Punjab.
Taking to Twitter, the Minister lashed out at the demands, calling them “unbelievable.”
“When people send me messages to shut schools for some odd reasons, I am shocked. The learning losses our children have suffered are tremendous since COVID,” the Minister tweeted.
“At this point, schools should be the last place to ever shut down. Who are these ignorant people? Unbelievable!” the Minister further added.
When people send me messages to shut schools for some odd reasons, I am shocked. The learning losses our Children have suffered are tremendous since COVID. At this point, Schools should be last place to ever shut down. Who are these ignorant people? Unbelievable!
— Murad Raas (@MuradRaasMR) December 10, 2021
Meanwhile, Twitteratis called the minister out for his statements. They claimed it is getting difficult for students to go to school owing to the smog situation in Lahore.
Last month, Lahore became the world’s most polluted city. Platform IQAir said that Lahore now stands at the top of its polluted cities ranking – with an air quality index of 203 on the US AQI scale. Increasing smog and particle-laden air sickened thousands of people with respiratory and other illnesses. The smog forced many to stay at home on particularly dirty days.
Read more: Lahore becomes world’s most polluted city
On the other hand, some Twitteratis came to the Minister’s defense and asserted that schools should not be closed down. Important to note, ever since Covid hit, educational institutes all over were shut down, drastically impacting the educational progress of students.
Govt wants no disruption in education activities
It is indeed true that students suffered huge learning losses due to the frequent closure of schools. Students faced disruption in their studies. Moreover, students and teachers both had difficulties in online classes owing to connection issues and lack of adequate interaction. The government also canceled exams.
Furthermore, as the new Covid Variant Omicron spreads, fears of a complete lockdown once again increase. However, Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood had said that the government wanted to continue the education activities.
Speaking to the media in Lahore, the federal minister said he was not aware of the details about the new strain but there should not be any disruption in education.
Shafqat Mehmood said that authorities will hold examinations on time and with the complete syllabus as decided by the education ministers.
The federal education minister also spoke about the holidays given in educational institutions in view of smog in Punjab.
Read more: What is the post covid-19 scenario of higher education in Punjab?