Islamabad, Jan 15 (IANS): Pakistan Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood on Friday confirmed that grades 9-12 will resume from January 18 as planned, while primary classes will reopen nationwide from February 1.

While briefing the media after a meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Mahmood said grades 1-8 will begin on February 1, The Express Tribune reported.

He added that the decision to resume the primary classes was taken after reviewing the health situation in the country.

On January 4, ministers from the education sector had announced the resuming of educational activities in phases.

Following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in Pakistan in March 2020, all educational institutions remained closed until September 15.

But due to a resurgence, the educational institutions across the country were closed again on November 26, 2020, after remaining open for about two-and-a-half-months.

According to the latest statistics, confirmed cases due to Covid-19 pandemic in the country currently stand at 514,338, while the recorded deaths stand at 10,863.

A total of 469,306 recoveries from the infections have been reported so far.