Punjab to Reduce Summer Vacations in Schools and Colleges
A recent development in Punjab aims to significantly impact the academic year. A high-level committee, formed under directives from the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench, has recommended a standardized academic calendar. This new calendar mandates schools and colleges across Punjab to complete 190 teaching days annually. Consequently, this proposal includes a plan to drastically reduce Punjab summer vacations, ensuring more instructional time for students.
Proposed Changes to Punjab Summer Vacations
The committee’s key suggestion involves cutting the extensive summer break. Currently spanning two and a half months, the proposal aims to shorten summer vacations to a more concise six-week period. This initiative is part of a broader effort to optimize the educational structure. Furthermore, the committee convened three times over four months, meticulously finalizing these crucial recommendations during its third meeting.
Under this comprehensive plan, educational institutions throughout the province would observe 175 holidays each year. Meanwhile, the number of academic and instructional days would remain consistently fixed at 190. Interestingly, private school associations across Punjab have already endorsed this significant proposal, signaling widespread acceptance of the reforms.
Enhancing Academic Performance Across Punjab
The core motivation behind these changes stems from a critical observation: the increasing number of holidays has negatively affected academic performance. Specifically, this issue is more pronounced in senior classes, where course syllabi often remain unfinished due to insufficient instructional time. Therefore, reducing breaks intends to provide students with more dedicated learning opportunities.
Justice Jawad Hassan initially constituted the committee. This occurred during a writ petition hearing at the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench, which specifically challenged the rising number of holidays in Punjab’s educational institutions. Consequently, the committee’s third decisive meeting took place in Lahore, chaired by the secretary schools education and presided over by Special Secretary Muhammad Iqbal.
Implementation and Future of Educational Calendar in Punjab
Following the formal recommendations, Muhammad Iqbal, Special Secretary of the Punjab School Education Department, issued clear directives. He instructed PECTA and the Director Public Instruction for Secondary and Elementary education to promptly prepare a uniform academic calendar. This standardized calendar is expected to be finalized within a swift three-day period, underscoring the urgency of these educational reforms.
