LAHORE: Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat on Wednesday announced that all public and private schools across the province would remain closed on Fridays, with classes taking place four days a week.

According to a notification by the Punjab School Education Department shared by Hayat on X, “Pursuant to approval of the competent authority, it is hereby notified that all public and private schools across Punjab shall remain off on Friday till further orders.”

However, the notification didn’t mention the reason behind this decision. It also notified the opening and closing hours of public schools.

Under the new schedule, schools with a single shift will operate from Monday to Thursday from 8am to 1:30pm. Meanwhile, schools with double shifts will have the morning session from 8:00am to 12:30pm, and the afternoon session from 1:00pm to 5:30pm.

Speaking to Dawn, Punjab School Education Department Secretary Muddassir Riaz Malik also confirmed that educational institutions would remain closed on Friday.

Meanwhile, a notification issued by the Punjab Higher Education Department said that public and private colleges and universities in the province were also to have four-day work weeks (Monday to Thursday) and hold on-campus classes on these days.

“Pursuant to approval of the competent authority, it is hereby notified that all public and private colleges and universities across Punjab shall observe four working days (Monday to Thursday) and on-campus learning, till further orders,” the notification, seen by Dawn, said.

The development comes the same day that educational activities in the province resumed following a break amid the global fuel crisis triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran.

However, the government had earlier said that classes would take place five days a week.

Meanwhile, in a statement, the Punjab education minister welcomed students back to schools, colleges and universities, announcing that academic activities had resumed as per routine.

In the statement released earlier in the day, the minister had stated that educational activities would take place five days a week.

The minister emphasised the need to collectively overcome challenges and obstacles in the education sector, adding that policies would be revised to compensate for academic losses.

He further said consultations were underway to devise a new strategy to minimise educational disruptions in the future.