The persistent cold wave in the province has affected attendance at educational institutions, as parents are reluctant to send kids to the schools while the provincial government is yet to think whether to give additional winter vacations on the pattern of Punjab and Sindh or keep the schools opened.
“Yesterday, I observed that my son Khushal was shivering with cold in the car although he was wearing three sweaters, a shirt, warm cap, gloves and two pairs of socks. So I asked him not to go to school today because I was worried about his health,” said Rahman Khan, father of the grade one student.
Due to the severe cold wave, attendance in the government and private schools in the provincial metropolis and other districts have shown considerable decrease. In Punjab and Sindh, the winter vacations have been extended till January 8due to the cold spell.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has, however, not even brought the issue into their consideration.This correspondent made several attempts to reach Minister for Education Atif Khan by phone, but he did not receive the phone calls.
Once someone else picked his cell-phone and said that the minister was in a meeting in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat. He was not aware of any decision with regard to the issue.Another senior official in the Education Department told The News that the issue has not been discussed at any level and the schools and colleges would remain open.
Source: The News.
