Winter vacation announced for colleges, universities

The Higher Education Department has announced winter vacations for colleges and universities across Punjab.

According to a notification issued by the Punjab Higher Education Department, all public and private colleges and universities in the province will observe winter vacation from 23 December to 10 January due to cold weather conditions.

As per the notification, academic activities will resume as normal from Monday, 12 January 2026.

The directive applies to all institutions operating under the jurisdiction of the Punjab Higher Education Department and will be implemented uniformly across the province to maintain consistency in the academic calendar.

However, four-year BS degree programmes have been exempted from this decision, and teaching or academic activities under these programmes will continue during the vacation period.

It may be noted that every year adjustments are made to the academic schedule in Punjab keeping in view student safety, low temperatures and severe fog during the winter season.

Federal, Sindh govts announce public holiday

Federal government announced a national holiday on December 25, Thursday, on the birth anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Christmas.

All the government and private offices, educational institutions will be closed.

On the other hand, the Sindh government also announced holiday on December 26 for Christians employees for celebrations of Christmas.

Moreover, the Sindh government on Monday announced public holiday on December 27 on the death anniversary of Muhtarma Benazair Bhutto Shaheed.

All the provincial offices, semi-government offices and local institutions will be closed on the day.

Additionally, State Bank of Pakistan has already announced bank holiday on the last day of the year, on December 31.