Has Punjab's Chakwal banned co-education in public schools?

• Deputy district education officer issues directive to exclude names of female students studying in co-education from enrollment lists
• Chakwal Education Authority chief executive officer takes notice of matter.
• Authorities concerned give assure names of female students will not be excluded from enrolment lists, but they will be shifted to girls' schools.

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A ban was announced on co-education for girls and boys studying in classes six, seven and eight in the government schools of Chakwal by the deputy district education officer, Geo News reported Friday.

The Chakwal deputy district education officer issued an official notification to exclude the names of female students of grade 6, 7, and 8, studying in co-education setups from the enrollment lists of government schools.

But the Chakwal Education Authority chief executive officer took notice of the matter.

The authorities concerned gave an assurance that the names of the female students will not be excluded from the enrollment lists, but that they will be transferred to girls' schools. They said that a reply has been sought from the deputy district education officer for issuing an incorrect notification.

Later, the district education authority issued a notification for the nullification of the deputy district education officer's directive, saying that it was "passed without prior approval of the authority”.

"The instruction passed without prior approval of the authority by the Deputy District Education Officer [...] Chakwal, vide letter No. 1729, dated 21 December, 2021, regarding prohibition of co-education at elementary level is hereby cancelled/ withdrawn as sub-intio," read the notification.