RAWALPINDI:
The Punjab government has formed a high-powered committee to prepare an academic calendar following the directives from Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench Senior Judge, Justice Jawad Hassan, on Thursday.
The judge termed the extension of summer vacations across Punjab as undesirable, saying that the High Court would resolve this matter permanently.
The committee is comprised of Punjab Advocate General Usman Khan, Assistant Advocate General Barrister Raja Hashim Javed, Secretary Higher Education, Secretary Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Secretary Special Education Department, President of Pakistan Education Council Mian Imran Masood, Lahore Grammar School Executive Director, Nighat Ali, Beaconhouse Education Services Director, Ali Raza, National Curriculum Council of Pakistan, Dr Mariam Chughtai. The committee will also include four representatives from private schools and will determine the holiday schedule for the academic year.
According to the officials, the first meeting of the committee will be held on September 11 in the office of the Secretary, School Education Department, Lahore. Senior Law Officer Muhammad Asif Iqbal will serve as the committee’s secretary, responsible for organising meetings, maintaining records, preparing minutes, and updating the court on proceedings.
The hearing has been adjourned until September 16.
The petition challenging the Punjab Education Department’s decision to extend summer vacations was filed by student Daniyal Hassan. During Thursday’s hearing, Senior Law Officer Muhammad Asif Iqbal from the School Education Department, Lahore, and Abrar Ahmed Khan, representative of the All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association, submitted their replies.
The petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Hafiz Waqar Ahmed Awan, argued that the extension of summer vacations was made without reference to any relevant law, rule, or policy, rendering it unlawful. He said the Secretary of Education failed to provide any valid justification for the extension. He contended that only the District Registration Authority had the authority to issue directions regarding holidays in sudden or emergency. He added that excessive holidays were jeopardising students’ futures and making access to quality education difficult.
All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association (Northern Punjab) President, Abrar Ahmed Khan, said the Punjab School Education Department had never provided an academic calendar, forcing private schools to design their own according to their curriculum. Usually, private schools follow a 220-day academic calendar, excluding summer, winter, spring, and gazetted holidays, he said, adding that due to prolonged official vacations, they are left with only 135 effective working days. He argued that closing all schools across Punjab in response to seasonal, epidemic, or natural events in a specific district was unjustified.
Representatives of the Punjab Education Council, Misbahul Nabi and Kashar Rasheed, pointed out that despite the Prime Minister’s declaration of an “educational emergency,” unannounced holidays were preventing schools from achieving meaningful results.
School Education Department’s Law Officer Muhammad Asif Iqbal cited Section 2(3) of the Free and Compulsory Education Act 2014, which empowers the government to propose an academic calendar from grades 1 to 10. He said that although rules were framed under the ordinance, they did not specifically cover holidays. He noted that, unlike institutions such as the University of Oxford and Trinity College, Durban, where academic terms (Michaelmas, Hilary, Trinity) are clearly defined, Punjab lacked such structured academic terms. He emphasised that schools in Punjab should be regulated through a proper academic calendar aligned with global practices, dividing the year into spring (Jan-May), summer (May-Aug), autumn (Aug-Dec), and winter (Dec-Jan).
The court observed that this was a highly important matter, stressing that parents do not pay monthly fees of Rs70,000 for schools to remain closed. It added that disruption in children’s education due to unnecessary holidays was intolerable and assured that the High Court would provide a permanent solution. It ordered all stakeholders to prepare and present a comprehensive academic and holiday calendar for the full academic session, which the court would review and enforce accordingly.
