ISLAMABAD: Education and Professional Training Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain on Friday said the third party should mark students’ papers to overcome harassment cases in the higher education institutions. Agreeing with Senator Bahramand Tangi during ‘Question Hour’ at the floor of the upper house of parliament, the minister said he had already given instructions to the ministry into the matter. Assessment of papers through the same teachers may cause certain problems, he added. Senator Tangi was of the view that the government should introduce a system for the preparation and checking of examination papers by a third party or university in order to get rid of blackmailing cases. In the written reply, the minister said this proposal was under consideration and in practice in the International Islamic University Islamabad, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology Karachi, Health Services Academy Islamabad, and NFC – Institute of Engineering and Technology Multan. Responding to another query, he said, currently, masks were not mandatory in educational institutions and it was good to wear them as a precautionary measure. He said during COVID-19, all employees of the Federal Directorate of Education and its allied educational institutions were directed to wear masks and use hand sanitizer frequently to curb the spread of deadly viral infection. He said the ministry was focusing on improving the educational system and soon there would be visible significant changes in the following sector.