Punjab schools to observe short summer vacations, says Murad Raas

• Educational institutes in Punjab will have two to three weeks vacations in summer.
• Murad Raas says the government has started vaccination for teachers and other non-teaching staff of educational institutions.
• There are 16,000 teachers and 4,000 non-teaching staff in the province.

LAHORE: Schools across Punjab will observe shortened summer vacations under the new academic plan mulled by the provincial government amid the third COVID-19 wave.

Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas Friday said students have suffered a lot due to the coronavirus pandemic and now summer vacations in schools will only be for a duration of two to three weeks.

The minister was speaking to media along with Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid in Lahore.

Raas said the provincial government has started vaccination for teachers and other non-teaching staff of educational institutions.

"There are 16,000 teachers and 4,000 non-teaching staff in the province. We are trying to complete the vaccination of teachers by the end of June before reopening schools from June 7," he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Rashid said the vaccination process is underway and 3.5 million people have been given the jab in the province.

"Our target is to achieve 150,000 daily vaccination. Implementation of SOPs and vaccine is the only solution to COVID-19," she said.

Rashid added that the government is working to vaccinate teachers before schools reopen.

IPEMC green lights board exams

Last week, the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC) had decided that the examinations of classes 10 and 12 will be held after June 20.

Summer vacations, according to an official press release, will be limited and provinces will decide how many leaves to grant as they see fit.

The meeting had reviewed the latest COVID-19 situation in the country.

During the meeting, Chairman IPEMC had urged all federal units to ensure timely vaccination of teachers, supervisory staff, and other administrative staff.

Those who do not have vaccination certificates will not be called for invigilation, the meeting decided.