ISLAMABAD: Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood on Tuesday said the government was working on facilitating blended learning with use of all the available technologies.

“Now the focus will shift on teacher training, adult learning and education of out of school children,” said Shafqat Mahmood while speaking in the Senate.

He said according to a survey seven to eight million children benefited from the Teleschool launched by the government to teach them during the COVID-19.

The minister said the government took a range of measures to make it possible for children in educational institutions to continue their education during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Senate passed a resolution calling on the government to devise comprehensive distance learning strategies in collaboration with provinces and utilizing modern technologies to save the save educational future of the children affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A day ago, the education minister had said that some university students were demanding that their exams should be online as they had been studying online. “This is a decision for the universities to make but I have asked HEC to consult vice chancellors and see if it is possible given special circumstances this year,” he wrote on his Twitter account.

He said universities should also assess whether they had the technical ability to conduct exam for all students.

“No one can be left behind. It is also necessary to ensure that online exam system is not misused to get easy grades. Preparing good question papers/ assessment is important,” he maintained.