Federal Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Shafqat Mahmood, has called another special meeting of the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC) amid rising coronavirus cases. The pandemic situation in the education sector and the possibility of early and extended winter break will be discussed in detail in the meeting scheduled for Monday, 16th November, at 11 am at National Command and Operation Center’s (NCOC). Letters have been issued to all provincial education ministers in this regard. Earlier today, the Federal Minister for Planning, Asad Umar, who also heads the government’s response to COVID-19, recommended early and extended winter vacations this year. The recommendation came during the NCOC meeting. The forum was informed about the rising positivity ratio at educational institutions. The NCOC decided to call an IPEMC meeting on Monday and discuss the matter in detail. Notably, the provincial education ministers meeting last week had decided against taking early winter vacations. Reportedly, Sindh and Punjab ministers had announced no winter break at all.