Private schools in Sindh to decide weekly working days at their own convenience, education department says

All private schools in Sindh have been allowed to decide their weekly teaching and working days according to their own schedules and convenience, the Sindh Education and Literacy Department said on Friday. A circular issued by the province’s Directorate of Inspection and Registration of Private Institutions clarified a notification issued by the education department on July 29, which directed that classes would be held six days a week at schools and colleges across the province from August 1 until further notice. The new circular clarified that the directive would not apply to privately managed schools. “It is hereby clarified for all privately managed schools across the province of Sindh that they may manage their weekly working days according to their own schedules and operative convenience,” Additional Director (Registration) Rafia Javed said in the circular. A copy of the circular is available with Dawn. In its July 29 notification, seen by Dawn, the Education and Literacy Department said: “In supercession of this department’s notification of even number dated March 31, 2026, it is hereby notified that all public and private educational institutions under the administrative control of the School and Literacy Education Department, Government of Sindh, shall observe a six-day working week (Monday to Saturday) with effect from August 1, 2026 till further orders.” The College Education Department issued its own version of the notification a day later, directing that a six-day working week be observed by all public and private educational institutions under its administrative control. On March 31, as cited in the two notifications, the Sindh government had announced that Saturday and Sunday would be “off” days at educational institutions, as part of the austerity and fuel conservation measures adopted to deal with the economic impact of the US-Israeli war on Iran. The Sindh chief minister’s spokesperson, however, told Dawn that teachers had also stopped working on Saturdays, although the March decision applied only to students. He said this had affected students’ education and the completion of the annual curriculum. The six-day week was introduced to facilitate completion of the curriculum.