The caretaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s government decision to extend winter break for schools across the province has been rejected by the province’s Private Education Network (PEN).
In a statement, the Network has urged the concerned authorities to reconsider their decision. Expressing his strong disapproval of the decision, the network’s president Muhammad Saleem Khan stated that the decisions made by education department officials in their offices overlook practical realities.
Khan warned that such decisions could pose a threat to the future of students. The Provincial President for PEN explained that student needs a minimum of 240 days to cover the entire syllabus during the academic year.
However, following the gazetted vacation, matriculation, and intermediate students have only 126 days and 91 days, respectively, to complete the syllabus.
Muhammad Saleem Khan also highlighted the challenges faced by the students and their parents due to the education department’s decision to conduct the matriculation exams one-and-a-half months ahead of schedule. Additionally, he also questioned the education authorities’ logic behind extending winter vacations citing teachers’ involvement in the election.
Khan stated that even though the private schools’ teachers have nothing to do with the election process, it makes no sense to apply holidays to the private sector.
Moreover, he suggested starting schools at 9 am to cope with the harsh weather.