ISLAMABAD: The public and private schools and colleges in Islamabad will observe week-long holidays starting this Saturday ahead of the general elections.

According to a notification issued here by the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, the schools and colleges in Islamabad—both public and private—will observe holidays from February 6 to February 9 and will reopen on Saturday, February 10.

Practically, the educational institutions will observe week-long holidays starting tomorrow, Saturday, followed by Sunday’s off.

The next day, Monday, February 5, is the official holiday of Kashmir Day.

Then, from February 6 to February 9, institutions will observe holidays for general elections.

However, the notification says the schools and colleges will reopen on February 10. i.e Saturday.

A senior officer said that Saturday is always off day, but on February 10, the institutions will reopen as from Monday examinations will begin.

Therefore, it was decided that on February 10, institutions would reopen.

However, the next day, February 11, all institutions will remain closed before reopening on Monday, February 12.

To a question, he said that the decision to reopen institutions on Saturday was made at the request of the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), which supervises 431 public sector schools, colleges, and private institutions that are at their liberty to opt for reopening on Saturday, February 10, or for Monday, February 12.

To find your constituency and location of your polling booth, SMS your NIC number (no spaces) to 8300. Once you know your constituency, visit the ECP website here for candidates.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2024