Punjab schools to reopen on April 1, five-day schedule to be followed

Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat said on Monday that schools across the province would reopen beginning April 1.

The provincial government had earlier this month ordered the closure of all educational institutions from March 10 to 31 as part of measures to ease economic pressure due to the sharp rise in petroleum prices triggered by the ongoing Middle East conflict.

In a statement, the education minister said that the notification — widely circulated on social media — stating that the schools would remain open for four days was fake.

“Educational institutions will remain open five days a week,” the education minister said, adding that the classes would be in-person and ruled out a hybrid mode of education.

“We cannot shift towards online classes; come to school and study,” he told students, explaining that universities, colleges, and schools would all function for five days.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has again urged citizens to avoid unnecessary travel and support the government’s austerity drive, introduced in the wake of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East due to the US and Israel's war on Iran.