School summer vacations from 22nd

Announcement comes amid heatwave alerts

LAHORE:

All schools in Punjab will remain closed for summer vacations from May 22 to August 23.

The provincial government has announced the schedule for all public sector and private schools amid rising temperatures and heatwave alerts.

However, private school associations have opposed the extended closure.

According to a notification issued by the Punjab School Education Department, the educational institutions are scheduled to reopen after the vacations on August 24,

The directive issued by School Education Secretary Muddasir Riaz Malik has been issued to the district education authorities and other relevant departments across the province.

Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat also shared the decision on social media.

The announcement comes amid increasing temperatures across Punjab and weather warnings issued by both the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).

The authorities have cautioned that several areas may experience severe heatwaves, dust storms, strong winds, flash floods and urban flooding during the coming months.

According to weather advisories, temperatures in several cities are expected to remain above normal during May, June and July.

Officials fear prolonged exposure to extreme heat could pose serious health risks to students, particularly children attending schools.

Last year, the Punjab government had initially announced summer vacations from May 28 to August 14. However, the holidays had been extended until August 31 due to worsening weather conditions and prolonged heatwaves across the province.

However, private schools' representatives argued that lengthy holidays would badly affect academic activities and syllabus completion.

All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association Central Punjab President Syed Ali Abbas said the decision had been taken unilaterally without consulting stakeholders. He said schools had already suffered academic losses due to unexpected closures and disruptions earlier this year.

"The March holidays had already disturbed the academic calendar and a large part of the syllabus has yet to be covered," he said, adding that temperatures in many districts of Punjab were below 40 degrees Celsius and there was no immediate justification for prolonged vacations.

The association argued that educational institutions should have been allowed to continue morning classes instead of closure.

Abbas said students might face difficulties because of the extended break, especially those preparing for board examinations and admission tests of other institutions that require completion of the syllabus.

He said a delegation of private schools' representatives would soon meet government officials to request reconsideration of the decision.