KARACHI: The Sindh government on Tuesday announced two-month summer vacation for schools and colleges starting from June 1.

According to a notification issued by the Sindh education department, all government schools and colleges will take a break for summer from June 1 to July 31.

The announcement has received a mixed reaction from private schools. While some private school managements were glad to learn exactly when the vacation will commence well in advance, others were surprised at the government’s announcing this with a month remaining before the vacation.

Syed Khalid Shah, the chairman of All Private Schools Management Association, Sindh, said that the announcement was in accordance with the decision taken by the steering committee when it met in February.

“At that time they had decided on these dates though there was some confusion about Ramazan. It was said that maybe they should change the date keeping the holy month in mind, but having been given so much time, we can plan ahead. Besides there will probably be only two days of fasting before the holidays, which is fine,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sharaf-uz-Zaman, the chairman of another private schools association, said that he had told the education minister that even though they would manage with the two days of school in the start of Ramazan, they didn’t know how the weather would fare.

“The weather can be quite unpredictable during this time of year. It is already very hot and if it gets any worse, the parents wouldn’t send their children to school anyway. Then who will we keep our gates open for?” he asked.

“I am surprised at the government announcing holidays already. The government should think about these things. Even in winter, when it got extremely cold, parents were reluctant to send their children to school but there was no announcement for extended winter vacation,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2017