LAHORE: The Punjab government is weighing the option of extending winter vacations in schools as cold weather intensifies across the province. Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat chaired a meeting on Saturday to evaluate the situation following growing appeals from parents and teachers.
With temperatures dropping steadily, concerns have been raised about students’ health and safety, prompting calls for an extended winter break. Social media has also been abuzz with claims that holidays in educational institutions could be prolonged by another week, though no official confirmation has yet been issued.
Sources revealed that the education minister scheduled a meeting at 3:00 pm to review weather conditions and related reports from the Pakistan Meteorological Department. A decision will be finalized after assessing the latest forecasts.
Addressing the issue, Rana Sikandar Hayat emphasized that safeguarding children’s well-being is the government’s foremost concern. He acknowledged receiving formal requests from parents urging an extension due to the harsh cold.
Any decision regarding additional holidays will be communicated through an official notification after the meeting concludes. At present, winter vacations are set to end later this week.
It is worth noting that a day earlier, the minister dismissed circulating rumors about an extension. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he stated that schools and colleges across Punjab would resume classes on January 12, as previously announced, adding that no extension had been approved.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department forecasts cold and dry weather in most parts of the country over the next 12 hours, with extremely cold conditions in mountainous regions. Dense fog is expected to linger in Punjab, upper Sindh, and plains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while frost may occur in isolated areas of the Potohar region and Kashmir during early morning hours.
