Lahore: 13 private schools served notices

LAHORE: The Lahore District Education Authority has issued show-cause notices to several private schools for opening during summer vacations.

According to officials, 13 schools in Lahore were served notices after inspection teams found them open during surprise raids.

The notices stated that opening schools during the break violated the Punjab Private Educational Institutions Act.

Principals have been directed to appear before the authority and explain the reason, or face legal action.

Summer holidays extended in Punjab schools

Earlier the Punjab School Education Department had granted permission to hold summer camps in schools. Both public and private schools will be allowed to organise summer camps for a period of 30 days.

According to the education department’s spokesperson, no fees will be charged for participation in the summer camps. Schools will be required to take all necessary precautions against the heat during the camps. The timings for the summer camps will be from 7:30am to 10am.

Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat said that permission for the camps was sought from the Chief Minister’s Office, and following the CM’s approval, schools have now been allowed to hold summer camps for 30 days.

Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat said the extension of summer holidays also applied to private institutions.

He urged parents to file complaints against schools violating the order.

It is worth mentioning that on Thursday, the Punjab Education Department extended the summer vacation period.

The minister announced that all schools in the province would now reopen on September 1, instead of the earlier date of August 14.

Keeping in view the prevailing weather situation and in the interest of students’ health, the summer break has been extended until the end of August, the minister said.

Earlier, schools were expected to reopen in the second week of August, but parents and teachers had raised concerns over the extreme heat, prompting authorities to reconsider.