LAHORE: Most private schools in Punjab have refused to close for summer vacation despite recent announcement by the government. Punjab Minister for School Education Murad Raas announced that there would be summer vacation in all schools of the province from July 1 to Aug 1 after a meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday. The minister had announced vacation in all public and private schools of the province but the School Education Department (SED) issued a notification stating `It is hereby notified that Public Schools in Punjab shall remain closed from July 1, 2021 to August 1, 2021 for summer vacation. The notification did not mention the private schools allowing their administrations to interpret it the way they like. The private schools did not close their institutions. Meanwhile, Government Girl`s High School Samsani Khoi at Johar Town was also conducting classes and its headmistress was not following orders of the education department. The parents of the children say extreme weather conditions are creating problems for their children to attend the school and no one is taking measures to address the issue. The parents also say there are no facilities in schools to counter the hot weather and the children are being exposed to heatwave. All Pakistan Private Schools Federation President Kashif Mirza said it`s impossible to compensate for the educational loss of 18 months by closing down educational institutions. He said the schools would remain open from 7am to llam and the students were allowed to attend schools in casual dress rather than uniforms. He said the decision had been taken in view of extreme weather conditions and announced that those institutes who had the facility could take online classes. Chief Executive Officer Pervaiz Akhtar told media that they were taking action against the schools that were violating the summer vacation orders. He said they would hold inquiries against the public schools for opening the campuses after the announcement of the vacation.
