• FDE institutions to open on Jan 10
• Punjab, KP also issue notifications
• Schedule aimed at boosting vaccine coverage among students

ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Friday decided to observe winter holidays in educational institutions from Jan 3, 2022, with Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa releasing their own schedules.

The forum said the decision had been taken to ensure maximum number of students received their Covid-19 vaccines, which was only possible when schools and colleges remained open.

However, the decision will not be applicable on institutions in areas affected by extreme weather conditions or fog.

Soon after the NCOC meeting, the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) issued a notification announcing that all schools and colleges within its jurisdiction would remain closed from Jan 3 till the 9th.

On the other hand, Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas, in a tweet, said all public and private schools in the province would observe winter vacation from Dec 23 till Jan 6, 2022.

He also urged people to get vaccinated and observe the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the government.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Education Minister Shahram Khan Tarakai also shared the provincial government’s notification on Twitter.

As per the notification, winter break in the province’s plain areas will start from Jan 3 and continue till Jan 12, 2022. However, schools and colleges in hilly/snowy areas will remain closed from Dec 24 till Feb 28, 2022.

Sindh and Balochistan governments have already declared holidays in their respective educational institutions. In Sindh, vacation will commence from Dec 20 and continue till Jan 3, 2022 whereas in Balochistan, the winter break has already been notified on Dec 2.

According to the notification, vacation for the winter zones will start from Dec 15 till Feb 28, 2022 while for the summer zones, they will commence from Dec 22 till the 31st.

The NCOC meeting, which was presided over by Minister for Planning Asad Umar, reviewed the rescheduling of winter vacation in educational institutions.

Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan and other stakeholders attended the meeting.

It was decided that winter vacation in educational institutions would start from Jan 3, 2022, except in areas affected by extreme weather conditions or fog. The provincial authorities will notify accordingly.

This decision had been taken to maximise vaccine coverage among students, which could be best achieved when schools remained open, the NCOC statement said.

The NCOC urged parents to get their children inoculated at the earliest to protect them and those around them from infection. It said global trends regarding the spread of the Omicron variant suggested that an upsurge in cases typically occurred within a few weeks of the variant’s detection.

In view of this information, the forum said it would be prudent to schedule winter vacation in January to coincide with the potential increase in cases. This will allow for minimal disruption of educational calendars if there was a surge in cases.

The NCOC once again called on all citizens to get vaccinated, including those who had yet to receive their second dose.

Meanwhile, 14 patients died and 277 more got infected during the last 24 hours, as 243 patients recovered in a single day.

According to the government’s Covid-19 portal, the death toll has increased to 28,863 in the country while the total number of recoveries has reached 1,252,157.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2021