LAHORE: In light of the general elections scheduled for February 8, the Punjab government has decided to keep all schools, colleges, and institutions closed throughout the state from February 6 to 9.
The Punjab cabinet decided that both public and private educational institutions would be affected by the decision.
In an Instagram post, Punjab’s acting chief minister, Mohsin Naqvi, stated, “The Provincial Cabinet has approved that all public and private sector schools, colleges, and universities in Punjab will be closed from February 6th to February 9th in view of the upcoming general elections on February 8th.”
He did clarify, though, that the 9:30 a.m. school opening time will only be kept until February 3. Later on, regular school hours will be followed, he continued.
It is significant to remember that Punjab’s annual winter vacation began on December 18, 2023. Due to extremely cold and harsh weather, the original expiration date of January 1, 2024 was prolonged to January 09, 2024. There was no end in sight even after that, so the school schedule was changed, with lessons starting at 9:30 am.
The provincial government announced on January 8 that schools would begin at 9:30 am on January 10 and continue until January 22. The decision was made due to the chilly and foggy conditions.
The Punjab School Education Department had previously extended the winter break for public and private educational institutions to January 9 due to the ongoing cold weather.
Given the current cold wave that was engulfing the region, Mohsin Naqvi had declared on January 10 that lessons for pupils in grade one and below would be suspended for an additional week.
36 children in the region had died from pneumonia, Naqvi said at an emergency meeting at the Children’s Hospital in Lahore. As a result, the administration had decided to postpone exams for grades 1 through 10.
