The All Pakistan Private Schools Association (APPSA) has announced that it will challenge the decision of the Punjab government to declare early school holidays.
APPSA held an emergency meeting in the Sector F-8 of Islamabad, where all the members agreed to challenge the government decision in the court.
While speaking after the meeting, held on May 18, the association’s central president, Dr Abrar Hussain, said that the early summer vacations in Punjab would harm the education of the children.
He added that the government is playing with the future of the kids.
While warning, the central president said that prolonged and repeated school closures can lead to the rising numbers of out-of-school children within the country.
Abrar Hussain stated that federal and provincial governments should officially allow the schools to operate in residential areas so students do not face academic loss.
“The private educational institutions would not accept any damage to children’s learning and the association is preparing to take legal action against the decision”, he said.
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Govt announces summer camp schedule
The government of Punjab has announced the summer camp schedule for the academic year 2026.
The summer camps will commence from 07:30am to 09:30am daily.
The summer camp schedule has been issued by the government in order to complete the course during the summer vacations that have already been announced by the government.
According to the media reports, the Punjab Education Department has issued an official notification regarding the summer camp schedule with timings mentioned in it.
The Education Department has also stressed that the curriculum must be covered during the summer vacations, as the vacations have been announced earlier than before.
The time has been set in the morning shift to keep the mind, health and safety of the children a top priority.
Provincial Education Minister, Rana Sikandar Hayat said, “The summer camps will start from the beginning of the summer vacations and will continue for a limited time for a month.”
He said that the aim of this initiative is to ensure the timely completion of the curriculum according to the academic calendar while taking full care of the health of the students.
The education department has said that the duration and working hours of the camp will be kept very limited, as the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has already warned about the severe heat wave in the province.
On the other hand, the private educational institutions have also requested the government to shorten the duration of the summer vacations.
All Pakistan Private Schools and Colleges Association President, Irfan Muzaffar Kayani, said the vacations should be reduced from June 1 to August 14.
Normally, the government of Punjab announces the summer holidays on June 1, but due to the heatwave warning by the PDMA, the education department announced the vacations on May 27.
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