Private schools reject vacation schedule

Associations announce legal battle against Punjab government's notification

RAWALPINDI:

All four major associations representing private schools in Pakistan have rejected the Punjab Education Department's notification announcing three months of summer vacations from May 22 to August 23.

Declaring the 90-day break disastrous for the educational and academic system, the associations announced plans to challenge the decision in the Lahore High Court principal seat as well as the Rawalpindi, Multan and Bahawalpur benches.

The representatives said such lengthy vacations after many years were both questionable and condemnable.

They also referred to observations by Justice Jawad Hassan of the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench, who had earlier suggested reducing annual summer vacations to less than 40 days.

All Pakistan Private Schools and Colleges Association central president Dr Abrar Hussain Malik rejected the early announcement of summer vacations by the Punjab government and said children should be allowed to continue studying.

He said announcing holidays at the start of May amounted to playing with students' futures. According to him, prolonged breaks keep children away from schools for too long, making them lazy and less interested in studies, while also increasing their involvement in non-academic activities and screen time.

He pointed out that more than 25 million children in Pakistan were already out of school and warned that such lengthy vacations could further increase dropout numbers as students often fail to readjust after long absences.

He added that Pakistan currently ranked 156th among 193 countries in educational standards and criticised policymakers for focusing more on holidays than education.

"All Pakistan Private Schools Colleges Association" president Irfan Muzaffar Kayani said the decision would destroy the educational system and confirmed that the matter would be challenged in court.

He demanded that holidays should instead be observed from June 1 to August 14 and called for permission to hold summer camps for students of classes nine and ten.

All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association president Abrar Ahmed Khan said the decision contradicted recommendations made by a committee formed on the petition heard by Justice Jawad Hassan regarding reduction in vacations.

He accused the government of being bent on damaging the education system and said the decision should be withdrawn immediately.

All Pakistan Private Schools Association Registered president Malik Naseem Ahmed said more than half of the academic year would be lost in vacations. He suggested holidays should only apply from class one to six, while students from class seven to second year should have vacations reduced to two months.

He said educational activities had already suffered due to three weekly holidays on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays over the past one-and-a-half months.

The associations also suggested reducing holidays and adjusting school timings from 7am to 10 or 11am during extreme heat so that the syllabus could be completed on time.