Sindh education calendar changed

The decision comes in the wake of the devastating floods that have badly affected the province.

Due to the devastating floods, the government was forced to change the Sindh education calendar on Friday with some significant decisions.

The Sindh government decided to cancel Saturday holidays in all government and private schools and colleges in the province. It was also decided that winter vacation will be reduce by seven days, Private School Management Alliance president Syed Khalid told The Express Tribune.

During a steering committee meeting of the Sindh Education Foundation, provincial education minister Pir Mazharul Haq said the decision was taken as a result of the floods that badly affected the province.

Most of the schools in the province were destroyed in the flood, while in the areas that were not so affected, government schools served the purpose of relief camps for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

The school session in some schools restarted on Monday after the summer vacation, while other schools in the province are yet to reopen. The session was also delayed as the infrastructure and furniture of the school buildings, which served as relief camps, has been damaged and will restart after repair work has been completed.

Meanwhile, public school examinations for grades one to eight have also been postponed for 15 days. Hence, the next education year will also begin 15 days later.

Haq also announced that matriculation exams will be held on April 12, 2011 and results will be announced on August 15, 2011. Meanwhile, the intermediate exams will be held on the May 10, 2011. The results will be announced on August 31 next year.

The school years of primary and secondary schools have also been increased. Classes in primary schools will now start at 8 am and end at 2 pm, while in secondary schools classes will begin at 8 am and end at 2:30 pm.

The decisions are for both public and private schools, even though private schools started on time. According to the minister, he needed to maintain parity between the schools of both sectors otherwise the education system would be disturbed. So, the new education calendar is to be followed by all, he said.

Appreciating the changes, Syed Khalid Shah said they wanted to cancel the Saturday holiday because schools had been closed for many days this year due to the incidents of violence in the city. “However, we will only accept the decision after consulting our office bearers,” he said.

This decision, however, will be only be implemented once the summary of the meeting and decisions are approved by Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and the federal government.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 9th, 2010.