PESHAWAR    -  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Elementary and Secondary Education Department and Higher Education Department on Wednesday issued separate notifications regarding winter vacations and online classes. 

The KP Higher Education, Archives, and Libraries announced that following the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference, all public and private universities and colleges will remain closed from November 26 to December 24 in the province. Also, winter vacations will be from December 25, 2020 to January 10, 2021. It also said that all examinations to be held in December shall be postponed till further orders. 

Similarly, Provincial Education Minister Shahram Tarakai on Wednesday also released a notification in the light of the National Command Operation Centre instructions. It said that staff of schools and higher secondary schools must be available for online teaching from November 26 to December 23, while the winter vacations will start from December 24, 2020 till January 10, 2021.  The notification said that the educational material for students will be available at the Education Department website kplearning.kpese.gov.pk. The schedule for the vacations is for educational institutions located in both summer and winter zone, while the winter vacations might be extended further in winter zone institutions.  During the closure up to December 23, staff of the educational institutions will attend the institutions to ensure online classes and assignments to their students.

Madaris and other such institutions that cannot provide online lessons, can call their students turn by turn on grade basis while observing the SOPs but they must avoid calling all classes to the institutions at a time.  The notification further stated that these activities as far as possible and subject to weather conditions should preferably be conducted in the open or in the verandas of the educational institutions or in well ventilated rooms. School managements shall ensure that no student is call to their institutions for more than once a week. The homework shall be assessed and counted towards the overall result of the students in their school based exams at the end of the academic year, it further stated. Also, the notification said that exams would be conducted this year, unlike the last time when students were promoted to the next grades without exams.