Punjab govt files notification regarding winter vacations in LHC

Lahore: The Punjab government has filed a notification in the Lahore High Court (LHC) regarding winter vacations in educational institutions.

According to the submitted notification in the court of Judge Justice Shahid Karim, the Punjab government has divided the winter holidays into two parts.

In the first phase, winter vacations will be started from December 23 to January 6 in 24 districts of Punjab, while in the second phase, holidays will be started from January 3 to January 13 in the remaining 12 districts.

The districts will observe holidays from December 23 to January including Kasur, Sialkot, Narowal, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Pakpattan, Sheikhupura, Okara, Vehari, Khanewal, Lahore, Khushab, Hafizabad, Multan, Lodhran, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Sargodha, Mandi Bahauddin, Nankana and Jhang.

Rajanpur, Layyah, Jhelum, Mianwali, Attock, Muzaffargarh, Chakwal, Bhakkar, Rawalpindi, Rahim Yar Khan, DG Khan and Chiniot will observe winter vacations from January 3 to 13.

On Friday, Punjab government had announced the winter vacations for public and private schools across the province. 

In a tweet, Minister for Education Punjab Murad Raas said that the winter vacations for public and private schools would be observed from December 23 to January 6, 2022.

The education minister also advised the masses to get vaccinated and follow government-mandated standard operating procedures (SOPs), as the new coronavirus variant Omicron has also emerged in Pakistan.

“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 minister tweeted.

Earlier in the day, National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) had decided that winter vacations in educational institutions will commence from January 3 next year.

The decision was taken at an NCOC meeting chaired by Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar (Chairman NCOC).

The NCOC said in a Twitter post that the decision has been taken to speed up the process of vaccination among the people.

“During today’s NCOC session, it is decided that winter vacations in education sector will start from January 3, 2022 apart from fog and smog hit districts of Pakistan,” the post stated.

 
On the other hand, the Lahore High Court (LHC) has ordered closure of schools from December 23 to January 4, nullifying NCOC decision to hold winter vacations from last week of January 2022.

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

The court further remarked that the decision will help in the reduction of the effects of smog.