The Punjab School Education Department on Sunday shared details of the first STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) competition for elementary and high schools across the province. In a tweet, the provincial department said the participating students can submit one-minute videos on selected themes to win the title of “Super Scientists”. The themes are viruses, energy, calculus, astronomy, area and volume, environment, agriculture, and physical science. The videos must be submitted via WhatsApp to the SDP of the respective districts before January 18, 2020. “The competition is aimed at engaging students in marvels of practical & experimental science cultivating improved cognitive abilities,” said Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas. STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in an interdisciplinary and applied approach. Rather than teaching the four disciplines as separate and discrete subjects, STEM integrates them into a cohesive learning paradigm based on real-world applications. Meanwhile, the Punjab government has issued the new schedule for enrolment and admissions for Class XI on the basis of the result of the secondary school supplementary examination 2020. According to details, the Punjab Boards Committee of Chairmen (PBCC) has issued the revised schedule for online admission of candidates by all the boards of intermediate & secondary education (BISEs) for Class XI for the year (2020-22). As per details, candidates can be admitted to the institutions without a late fee till January 29 and with a fine of Rs500 till February 04, 2021. The education authorities are grappling with the changing situation due to the coronavirus pandemic that has badly affected the academic calendar. On January 4, the federal government had announced the phased resumption of in-person learning in around 300,000 educational institutions countrywide from January 18. It, however, slightly changed the plan on the advice of the health officials on Friday. Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood told reporters that students of classes 9-12 would resume education in-person on Jan 18, as announced earlier, while those in nursery to class 8 would return to school on February 1, instead of January 25, maintaining less than 50% attendance. He said there was no change in the plan of reopening of the countrywide universities and colleges on February 1. The minister said no students would be promoted without examinations in the current year, and therefore, the decision to resume classes from 9 to 12 was made.