Daily Times

After a slight deadlock between National Command and Operational Centre (NCOC) and Federal Education and Professional Training on the matter of winter vacation, the both sections on Friday agreed finally to observe vacation in federal educational institutions from January 03, 2022.

As per notification issued by the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), controlling authority of all educational institutions in the federal capital, the winter vacation would be observed for seven days.

“As per decision taken the NCOC held on 17-12-2021 and conveyed through Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training that Winter Vacation shall be observed in all Educational Institutions working under the ambit of FDE with effect from January 03, 2022 to January 09, 2022 and shall resume normal educational activities on January 10, 2022,” reads the notification signed by Director academics Sadia Adnan.

Earlier both authorities failed to make any consensus regarding the winter vacation matter. The sources privy to the matter told Daily Times that they were not on the same page regarding this matter. The NCOC at its meeting held a couple of days back recommended the vacation start in the middle of January, a day after the federal education minister announced the holidays would commence on December 25.

Following the NCOC recommendation, the ministry kept silent on the issue and avoided announcing vacation dates.

Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood had after a meeting of the education secretaries on Tuesday announced that the winter vacation would start on December 25.

“Federal and provincial secretaries held a meeting in which they agreed that winter holidays should be from December 25 to January 4. Further notifications will be made by the governments concerned,” Shafqat Mahmood had said in a statement right after the said meeting

A day later after the education ministry announcement, the NCOC held a meeting and recommended the vacation be postponed till the second or third week of January so that the ongoing vaccination campaign in educational institutions could be completed. The Sindh government has already announced winter holidays in all educational institutions of the province from December 20 to January 3.

Meanwhile, students had been running a campaign on social media demanding early vacations. The federal education minister is once again the subject of a barrage of memes on social media, with students requesting him for early winter holidays. Earlier, the minister faced a similar situation online on the exam issue.

Meanwhile, the NCOC in a statement said that the decision for winter vacation has been taken in mutual consensus at the meeting held under the chairmanship of Federal Minister Asad Umar. It added that all stakeholders including education minister Shafqat Mehmood, SAPM Health Dr Faisal Sultan attended that meeting.

The NCOC said that the provincial entities will notify accordingly, adding that the decision has been taken to maximize vaccine uptake amongst students in educational institutions, which can be best achieved when schools are open.

“Millions of students remain unvaccinated, and data suggest that children may be susceptible to infection. Parents are urged to get their children vaccinated at the earliest to protect them and those around them,” it suggested.

Additionally, the NCOC said, the global trends regarding the spread of the Omicron variant suggest that an upsurge of cases typically happens within few weeks of the detection of the variant, adding that in light of this information, it will be prudent to schedule winter vacations in the country Pakistan in January to coincide with the potential uptick of cases. “This will allow for minimal disruption of educational calendars if there is a surge in cases,” the NCOC claimed.

All citizens are urged to get their vaccinations, including those who have not yet gotten their second doses. Complete vaccination offers the highest protection against the disease.