Punjab Education Minister and PTI MPA Dr Murad Raas said on Wednesday that the province will reopen schools tentatively from September 15, adding that the final decision on the matter depends on the “COVID-19 situation in Punjab”.

The minister, in a tweet, said that the Standard Operating Procedures will be followed in schools when they reopen and it will be conveyed to public and private stakeholders.

He added that this was the official information so far regarding the reopening of schools across the province, calling all other news “fake”.

Earlier, Raas had rejected reports of the government reopening schools in the province from August 15, saying that it will happen only if the coronavirus conditions are "manageable".

Raas had said the School Education Department (SED) Punjab had prepared detailed SOPs so that once schools reopened, the same could be followed to protect the children.

The minister had said that if they were opened, schools would function in different shifts to ensure physical distancing among the students in classrooms.