The notification provides a comprehensive list of days of national importance and religious festivals for Muslims and minority communities. PHOTO: FILE
RAWALPINDI:
The three main associations representing private educational institutions have sharply criticized the closure of schools, colleges and universities from March 10 to 31, calling the move a major blow to the country’s teaching and learning system. They demanded the immediate reopening of all educational institutions.
According to association leaders, February and March are among the most crucial months in the academic calendar, as they are key periods for teaching, admission and exam preparation.
Abrar Ahmed Khan, president of the Pakistan Private School Management Association, said a country where 200 days out of 365 are holidays cannot hope to make significant progress in education.
He added that representatives of private schools had repeatedly staged protests against the excessive number of vacations, but the problem remained unresolved, leaving the education system severely disrupted.
Irfan Muzaffar Kiani, president of the Association of Private Schools and Colleges of Pakistan, said that the period from February to the end of March is the peak season for new admissions, annual examinations and coaching classes for secondary and intermediate level students.
He warned that keeping institutions closed for most of March would seriously harm the education system, as students’ studies were already affected.
He noted that special preparatory classes for baccalaureate and intermediate exams – normally held in schools before board exams – had been suspended due to the closures.
“With students remaining inactive just three weeks before their exams, their preparation will inevitably suffer,” he said, urging authorities to reopen higher classes without delay.
Meanwhile, Malik Naseem Ahmed, President of Pakistan Private Schools Association (Registered), called for immediate reopening of classes 9, 10, first year and second year as their board exams are imminent and students need adequate preparation.
He noted that even countries facing conflict keep their educational institutions open, adding that closing them in Pakistan was difficult to understand and detrimental to education.
He further noted that admissions to classes I to VIII are currently underway, and warned that the closure of schools could also undermine efforts to integrate out-of-school children into the education system.
Survey to document out-of-school children
On the other hand, the Federal Ministry of Education and Professional Training has launched a massive ‘No Child Left Behind’ door-to-door survey and registration campaign in the union councils of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) to identify and enroll out-of-school children.
The initiative aims to ensure that every child benefiting from ICT has access to education by conducting a detailed household survey at the Union Council level. The campaign is carried out with the joint participation of stakeholders from the education sector, ministries and private organizations. As part of this campaign, the General Directorate of Community Schools of Basic Education will investigate nine union councils.
BECS officially launched its field survey on Monday, March 9, 2026 from Dhobi Ghaat, G-6/2, Islamabad, where the survey teams started door-to-door visits to collect information about out-of-school children and encourage parents to enroll them in nearby educational institutions.
