Winter vacations extended in educational institutions

PESHAWAR: The Education Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has extended winter vacations for all the educational institutions across the province for a week, ARY News reported on Monday.

A notification has been issued in this regard and the decision has been taken due to the severe cold wave in the province.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is facing harsh weather conditions as mercury has further dropped.

Concerns are being raised for the health of students as they go early morning to school usually in freezing conditions.

Now the educational institutions will open on January 7 instead of January 1.

Earlier the KP authorities announced winter vacations from December 22 to December 31 in the plain areas, while in the hilly regions, they will be closed from December 22 until February 28.

On the other hand, Punjab government had announced 20 days of winter vacations in public and private schools across the province.

As per details, Secretary of Schools Punjab Khalid Nazir Wattoo stated that schools will remain closed during winter holidays for 20 days from December 20, 2024, till January 10, 2025.

The announcement came at the time when Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered to provide pick-and-drop services to schoolchildren after winter break, in a move to counter the increasing smog threat.

The directions were given by LHC Justice Shahid Karim in a three-page written order he issued on Monday on petitions related to smog prevention.

The court ordered that children must commute to schools using transport provided by the school administration.