A notification circulating on social media and causing confusion among students alleges that the Punjab School Education Department has declared Saturday a holiday for all universities and colleges in the province.
The claim is false. The viral notification is fabricated.
A purported notification, dated October 28 and attributed to the Government of Punjab’s School Education Department, states that all public and private educational institutions across Punjab, including schools, colleges, and universities, shall remain closed every Saturday.
The document appears to bear the name of Khalid Nazir Wattoo, the secretary of the School Education Department.
Some iterations of the claim can be seen here, here, and here.
Government officials and an independent analysis confirm that the notification circulating online was never issued by the Punjab’s School Education Department.
Wattoo, whose name appears on the viral document, told Geo Fact Check that the notification was “fake”.
It is important to note that provincial School Education Departments only oversee primary and secondary schools. Matters related to colleges and universities fall under the Higher Education Commission (HEC).
Noor-ul-Huda, the public relations officer to the Punjab education minister, also told Geo Fact Check via phone that the School Education Department has no authority to issue directives for colleges and universities. “The notification is fake, not issued by the School Education Department,” he said.
Attestiv, an AI-content detection and digital media forensics tool, gave the document a Tamper Score of 95, meaning it has a high probability of being created using AI tools.
While Inam Shah, the deputy secretary of the Punjab Higher Education Department, said the notification was fake. “Saturdays are already off in universities, and no new order has been issued by the Higher Education Department."
Verdict: The notification is fabricated and was not issued by the Punjab School Education Department or any relevant authority.
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