Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas on Wednesday announced that the winter vacation for all schools across the province will officially start from December 25, 2020. Taking to Twitter, the minister shared an official notification issued by the government of Punjab and announced that all public and private schools, as well as all other educational institutions of Punjab, will remain closed for winter vacations, starting December 25th, 2020 to January 10th, 2021. During the winter holidays, students will not be required to take their online classes, which according to the schedule earlier announced by the Federal government, would end on December 24. It may be recalled that schools across the country had been closed due to the increasing number of coronavirus cases. However, online classes continued to take place since November 26. Speaking to media after the inauguration of the Digital Continuous Professional Development – an online training programme for school teachers — last week, Murad Raas also indicated that the academic year for schools in Punjab may be extended because of the two long closures of educational institutions amid the coronavirus pandemic. A final decision on the reopening of schools, he said, will be taken in the first week of January 2021. Dr Murad Raas, who had repeatedly advocated against school closures, had earlier said that students would only be promoted to the next grade on the basis and quality of homework they produce.