The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has implemented a new four-day working week for schools. Under this revised schedule, educational institutions in KP will remain closed on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, marking a significant shift in the academic calendar.
This change aims to enhance the organization of the education sector and optimize resource usage. The official notification from the KP Education Department confirms that the new weekly holidays will be observed starting immediately from April 1. Consequently, government schools in KP will now hold classes from Monday through Thursday.
To compensate for the reduced number of school days, there are indications that daily teaching hours might be extended slightly. This adjustment is intended to ensure that the syllabus is completed on time and to avoid any disruption in students’ learning progress. The department has instructed all district education officers to enforce the new schedule rigorously.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government has firmly rejected the idea of adopting a four-day school week. Punjab’s Education Minister, Rana Sikandar Hyat, dismissed such reports as “fake and fabricated,” urging parents and students to disregard these rumors. He emphasized that the period of school closures due to economic constraints is over and that all schools in Punjab will continue to operate on their regular schedules.
The minister further clarified that there are no plans to introduce online or hybrid classes at this time. Notably, schools in Punjab, which had been closed since March 10, reopened on April 1, maintaining the standard five-day academic week.
