Private school owners in Punjab have called on the government to restore physical classes on Fridays and end the mandatory online-only day, arguing that the current policy has hurt academic performance and slowed syllabus completion.
School stakeholders raised the demand during a Wednesday meeting to review educational performance and administrative issues affecting the private education sector. Participants said online learning on Fridays has failed to deliver the expected academic results and should no longer replace classroom teaching.
Punjab Private Schools Body Chief Qazi Naeem Anjum chaired the meeting, which also included education experts Syed Faisal Gillani, Saleem Awan, and Hassan Minhas. The participants stressed that schools need at least 210 days of in-person instruction each year to maintain strong academic standards.
They also expressed concern about delays in textbook publication, saying students have already lost valuable learning time because the books did not arrive on schedule. The participants urged the government to ensure that next year’s textbooks are published and distributed on time.
Private school owners also asked the Lahore Board to complete the pending process for extending school affiliations without further delay. Education experts at the meeting said repeated holidays and administrative bottlenecks have made it harder for schools to complete the syllabus, directly affecting student performance and exam outcomes.
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They said reducing weekly breaks has become necessary if the current academic session is to remain effective.
Earlier this month, Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hyat clarified the Friday policy for educational institutions, stating that schools would observe a work-from-home model on Fridays instead of a full holiday. He said government and private schools, colleges, and universities could continue academic activity through online classes, while the standard two-day weekend on Saturday and Sunday would remain unchanged.
The minister said the government adopted digital learning methods to keep academic activity going without wasting students’ time and thanked the public for its patience and cooperation.
The growing pushback from private school owners now puts fresh focus on whether Punjab’s Friday online classes policy can meet educational goals or whether the government will face stronger pressure to return to full in-person learning.
