LAHORE (Kashmir English): Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat on Wednesday announced that schools across Punjab will reopen from April 1 amid the speculation about extension of holidays.
In a post on X, the provincial minister said that the “academic activities at educational institutions across Punjab will resume from April 1.”
In a separate post, the education minister dismissed the reports regarding the extension of school holidays. “They are NOT being extended as of now. Pls Avoid Fake news,” he wrote.
Earlier, the minister declared a notification circulating on social media claiming the extension of holidays in educational institutions was fake.
“The public is requested to trust only information issued by authentic and official sources,” he stated.
A fake notification attributed to the Punjab School Education Department alleged that all schools in Punjab shall remain closed with effect from April 1 to 15. However, the minister denied issuing any such notification.
School closure announced
The provincial government had ordered the closure of all educational institutions till March 31 in view of the unprecedented economic hardships that had erupted due to the ongoing Middle East conflict.
The Punjab government has announced that schools, colleges, and universities will remain closed from March 10 to March 31.
It was learnt that authorities had been weighing several options to tackle the emerging energy crisis, including extending school holidays and reducing market hours to curb fuel consumption.
The Punjab Energy Department had also submitted recommendations to the provincial government, proposing fuel rationing along the lines of federal measures to manage limited resources, sources told Geo News a day ago.
Among the key proposals were extending school closures until April 15 and introducing a hybrid learning system to reduce energy usage in the education sector.
The department further suggested implementing a coupon-based or digital system to ensure equitable distribution of petrol and diesel, along with restricting fuel supply to vehicles on designated days as part of broader rationing efforts.
