It was clear right on the first day that schools reopened that a lot of them were not following prescribed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) identified and duly communicated by the government. And the natural result is that 22 educational institutes around the country have had to be shut down in the first 24 hours. All those concerned with such incidents should note that the matter does not end with shutting down schools that do not follow the rules properly. This problem goes on since those that are unfortunate enough to contract the coronavirus because of someone else’s fault still take it to their homes and risk the wellbeing of their families and anybody else they come into contact with as well. That is why all schools should learn valuable lessons from what has happened and how the government is striving to make sure that the new school environment is as safe as possible for everybody. Let’s not forget that the students are of course at risk but they tend to be carriers rather more than victims of this infection, so the people really at risk are the teachers in the schools and the families of students inside their homes. This was always going to be a trickier thing to do than reopening the rest of the system because of the involvement of so many children who cannot always be expected to follow all the rules, especially the stricter ones. For its part, the government must once again tell all schools how to behave to stay open. At stake, after all, is not just the business models and salaries of everybody working in schools but also the welfare and future of all the students. For one of the most savage blows that the coronavirus has dealt practically all countries is that it has made it a lot more difficult for students to continue their education. A few have been lucky enough to do whatever little was made possible by online learning but a very vast majority of students across the world just did not have that luxury. That is why, despite all the dangers, parents as well as governments are welcoming decisions anywhere that tend to lean towards sending children back to their schools. In addition to the students, this phase of online learning has been a big drain on working parents as well since at least one of them is needed at all times that the students are learning online. Hopefully schools in Pakistan will work out their problems and there will be no more serious issues going forward. *