Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood said Thursday that the new academic year for schools will begin from August.
In response to a person’s question on Twitter, the education minister said: “Academic year for schools will start this year from August.”
Responding further to the question, he said that private schools are free to use any textbook that is in conformity with the Single National Curriculum (SNC) and has a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the provincial government. Replying to another user who wrote that the new academic year should start from August every year as students return with a blank mind after long summer holidays, he said: “I agree.”
Moreover, a user claimed that the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB) had refused to give NOCs and that they are not collecting requests leaving schools’ management in a fix.
To which the education minister responded: “They cannot decide this unilaterally. We have given instructions that NOCs should be given expeditiously.”
