Education Desk:
The Balochistan education department has launched sensitization and training program for around 60,000 teachers and non-teaching staff with regard to the novel coronavirus prior to the formal opening of educational institutions in the province.
“1,000 headteachers already trained to impart training to cluster heads”, Ghulam Ali Baloch, the Secretary Secondary Education Balochistan told the daily Quetta Voice. Secondary education department and UNICEF prepared standard operating procedures (SOPs) for teachers, staff and students to contain the deadly virus once the schools are opened.
“More than 1 million students in all government-run schools would be sensitized to adopt SOPs”, Mr. Baloch informed. The educational institutions in the country are expected to be opened from September 15 this year. The federal government had closed all educational institutions across the country in the aftermath of the outbreak of the pandemic.
Girls guide, boy scouts and the entire staff would be responsible to make sure implementation of SOPs after openening of the schools, the Secretary mentioned. The number of government-run primary, middle and high schools in Balochistan is close to 14,000 currently. Out of 14,000 schools, 3,200 schools are either ghost or non-functional.
The SOPs were reviewed by a Steering Committee comprising secretaries of Secondary education, Health, Social Welfare, PHE, Colleges & Higher Education and Public Health experts Dr. Nasir Bugti, Dr. Sabina Baloch.
