January 1, 2006	Sunday	Ziqa’ad 29, 1426

KARACHI, Dec 31: Despite the Sindh education department’s notification that the winter vacation would be observed by government and private schools and colleges till Jan 7, a number of private institutions are set to reopen on January 2, said educational circles.

Through telephone calls, parents, students and teachers expressed the view that it would be highly unfair on the part of some institutions to reopen schools on Jan 2.

After a gap of a day or two the institutions would further be kept close in connection with the Eidul Adha holidays, while some schools, disregarding the government’s writ would be engaging teachers or students on the campuses in the meantime, it was further said.

Ignoring its notification issued about 11 months back, which called for closure of schools for winter vacation from Dec 24 to Jan 2, the Sindh education department on Dec 19 announced a winter vacation from Dec 26 to Jan 7.

Sources claimed that the revision was uncalled for and a very late action as most of the schools by the time had issued circulars pertaining to vacations commencing after the completion of their in-house exams.

However, parents said that schools which had issued vacation schedule in early December, before the revised schedule of the government, should have automatically followed the new decision and should not stress for reopening of schools from Jan 2.

On the other hand there are many schools, run by big parties in posh localities, which issued vacation circulars after the Dec 19 circular of the Sindh government, till Friday were known having asked their faculty not to follow the government’s circular and report on duty on Jan 2 positively.

A senior official of the department on Saturday said that the government wanted compliance of its schedule by all groups of schools equally; otherwise actions would be taken against defaulters.

Syed Khalid Shah, chairman of All Private Schools Management Association Sindh said that his group mostly served in middle income group and he anticipated that most of his member schools had issued circulars under the revised policy of the Sindh government.