Summer camps schedule during vacations in schools across Punjab revealed

LAHORE – The Punjab education department on Wednesday issued a formal schedule for summer camps across the province, aiming to maintain academic continuity during the summer vacation while ensuring student safety amid extreme heat. Under the announced schedule, summer camps will be conducted daily from 7:30am to 9:30am. Officials said the early morning timing has been selected to minimise exposure to high temperatures and safeguard the health and well-being of students. According to the education department, the initiative is intended to support completion of the academic syllabus during the holiday period. Authorities emphasised that the duration and timing of the camps will remain strictly regulated due to ongoing heatwave conditions. The decision follows requests from private school associations seeking permission to continue limited academic activities during the summer break. In response, the provincial government approved the arrangement to begin summer camps from the first week of vacations. Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat confirmed that the camps will start at the beginning of the summer holidays and continue for one month under controlled timings. He said the step has been taken to ensure curriculum completion within the prescribed academic calendar while maintaining student safety. He added that the policy reflects an effort to balance educational requirements with health concerns during periods of extreme weather. Meanwhile, the representatives of private schools urged the government to reduce the length of summer vacations, arguing that prolonged closures are affecting academic performance. They have proposed that holidays be limited from June 15 to August 1, alongside permission for summer learning programmes to reduce academic loss, particularly in higher classes. Earlier, the Punjab government had announced a three-month summer vacation from May 22 to August 23, with schools scheduled to reopen on August 24, citing severe heatwave