Punjab school winter vacation: Here's likely schedule

The Punjab government is expected to announce a two-week winter vacation for educational institutions across the province.

Reports suggest this year winter break for public and private schools is likely to begin on December 21 and end on January 1, 2025.

However, the Punjab School Education Department will make the final decision after assessing weather conditions.

Last year, the government announced a winter vacation from December 18 to December 31 and, due to adverse circumstances, extended the break to January 9.

This year, unprecedented smog caused Punjab to shut schools temporarily and shift to online classes.

The Punjab government announced reopening schools today after the smog break across the province.

The Punjab Education Department has also introduced updated Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all schools to ensure students' safety and uninterrupted learning.

The government took steps to protect people from smog hazards following the Lahore High Court directives in a years-old case.  

Today, Justice Shahid Karim directed the Punjab government to ensure all public and private schools make arrangements for bus service, otherwise, these will be sealed.

Shifting to buses from private transport is deemed as a good step to reduce the smog risk. The court also directed the government anti-smog measures should not be limited to Lahore.

During the previous hearing, the court praised the government for its measures to combat smog and directed the government lawyer to make it sure that authorities should continue monitoring the situation.

The advocate general told the court that the government has demolished a number of plants causing carbon by burning. The AGP assured the court that within the next 10 days, all such plants will be shut down. The court will resume next hearing on November 22.