Punjab govt announces winter holidays from Dec 23

Dunya News

Pakistan

Punjab govt announces winter holidays from Dec 23

LAHORE (Dunya News) – The government of Punjab on Friday announced that all educational institutions and schools across the province will remain closed from December 23 to January 6 in lieu of winter vacations.

Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas also tweeted the notification on his Twitter account.

“All Public & Private Schools of Punjab to remain closed for winter vacation starting December 23rd, 2021 to January 6th, 2022. Please get vaccinated and follow SOPs issued by the government,” the provincial education minister wrote on his Twitter handle.

On the other hand, in pursuance of National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) decision, the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has notified winter vacations for all the public and private educational institutions in the province.

According to details, winter vacations in plain areas of KP would start from January 3, 2022 to January 12, 2022 (both days inclusive).

Similarly, winter vacations in hilly, snowy areas of KP would start from December 24,2021 to February 28, 2022 (both days inclusive).

Earlier today, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had ordered closure of schools from December 23 to January 4 nullifying National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) decision to hold winter vacations in educational institutions from last week of January 2022.

LHC took a final verdict during smog case hearing and announced that the decision of closure of schools has been taken while considering the hazardous effects of smog in the city.

According to the public prosecutor, notification regarding the closure of schools will be issued soon. The court futher remarked that the decision will help in the reduction of the effects of smog.

Moreover, Justice Shahid Karim adjourned the hearing on the petitions till next week.

Previously, Lahore High Court (LHC) had ordered the government to reconsider its decision of closing schools from December 20. Justice Shahid Karim said that if the government did not decide to close the schools then the court will pronounce its final verdict.

During smog case hearing, Justice Shahid Karim remarked that there were rising concerns over smog and steps would have to be taken immediately to control it. He said that the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) had not taken concrete steps to tackle the issue of smog.

LHC ordered to collect the fines from all the responsible persons within a week and said that no concession should be made regarding the recovery of fines.

It is to be mentioned here that the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday had decided to hold winter vacations in educational institutions from last week of January 2022.

During the meeting, the recommendations collected from the provincial ministers were reviewed. The participants agreed on the closure of educational institutions in areas where heavy snowfall takes place.

NCO also directed to continue the process of coronavirus vaccination across the country.