Educational institutes to be reopened from September 15: Shafqat.

ISLAMABAD -- All education institutions, including universities, will reopen from September 15 if the health situation of the country improved, said Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood on Thursday.

The minister said that the government will review its decision in the first week of September by monitoring the situation in the country by taking a look at the 'health indicators' and take a final decision in this regard.

Mahmood said that it had been decided to allow schools to call its administration staff before September 15 and announced that trainings will be conducted to ensure that SOPs are implemented.

He said that provinces will be responsible for ensuring SOPs that are followed, cautioning schools to follow the procedures laid out by the government. "It is my request to private schools, especially, that the SOPs that you will have to follow will be the ones made by the government," he said.

The minister said that universities had recommended to the government that PhD students should be allowed, in a limited quantity, to universities. "How they decide to call students, we leave it up to...