Students Rejoice As Shafqat Mahmood Busts Fake News About Closing Schools

Shafqat Mahmood, Minister of Education, has clarified on Monday that the news making rounds on social media about closing down schools on October 15 is fake. He declared the circulating news fake on Twitter yesterday. According to his tweet, there is no decision taken by the government to shut down the schools.

After the tweet of Shafqat Mahmood, the Minister of Education in Punjab Murad Raas also rejected the stories gathering attention about closing the schools from October 15.

Origin of the “Fake news”

With the increased use of Social media and smartphones in Pakistan due to the discounted prices to use the internet, hoaxers have found a new way to manipulate the education sector with fake news. During the COVID-19 saga and even after that, fake news has influenced the understanding and expectations of the masses about the reopening of the schools. Many false claims made by irrelevant persons on platforms like WhatsApp have been troublesome for the students and the whole education sector. However, when most needed, the Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood has taken the charge to clarify the situation amidst and after the COVID-19 lockdown. While it can be difficult for students to separate false claims from the original news, the best tactic is to always wait for the official news from the Education Ministry.

Concerns regarding the reopening of schools

The situation of COVID-19 in Sindh after ending the lockdown is the reason for the spread of rumors of closing down schools on October 15, 2020.  While people are concerned about the second wave of the coronavirus, the tally of new patients after the reopening of institutions on September 15 is quite low. The step-wise opening of educational institutions started in September 2020 has been very beneficial for the revival of educational activities in Pakistan. However, the uncertainty regarding the situation of COVID-19 still prevails, causing many people to worry about the health crisis that may potentially arise in case the deadly virus starts spreading once again. Students attending schools, their parents, and the educational institutions themselves have to make sure that they follow the COVID-19 SOPs strictly.