Punjab schools closed due to rain will open tomorrow: Education minister

NEW DELHI: Punjab school education minister Harjot Singh Bains announced that all government, private, and aided schools closed due to rain will open from tomorrow, July 17. The minister asked all the deputy commissioners to declare a holiday only if a school is flooded or damaged.

The education minister also instructed the school heads and management committees to ensure that the school buildings are safe for children.

Also Read | PGI Index 2021-22: Punjab, Chandigarh top in school education; no state in top four categories

“From tomorrow, Monday 17th July 2023, all schools in Punjab will open as usual. All the Deputy Commissioners of the State are directed to ensure that the premises of Government/Aid/Recognised and Private schools in coordination with the Panchayat, Education, Local Government, Irrigation, Public Works or other Departments are safe for children,” Bains said in a tweet.

ਕੱਲ ਸੋਮਵਾਰ 17 ਜੁਲਾਈ 2023 ਤੋਂ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਸਾਰੇ ਸਕੂਲ ਆਮ ਵਾਂਗ ਖੁੱਲਣਗੇ।

ਸੂਬੇ ਦੇ ਸਾਰੇ ਡਿਪਟੀ ਕਮਿਸ਼ਨਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਨਿਰਦੇਸ਼ ਦਿੱਤੇ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ ਕਿ ਉਹ ਪੰਚਾਇਤ, ਸਿੱਖਿਆ, ਸਥਾਨਕ ਸਰਕਾਰ, ਸਿੰਚਾਈ, ਲੋਕ ਨਿਰਮਾਣ ਤੇ ਜਾਂ ਹੋਰਨਾਂ ਵਿਭਾਗਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਤਾਲਮੇਲ ਕਰਕੇ ਇਹ ਯਕੀਨੀ ਬਣਾਉਣਗੇ ਕਿ ਸਰਕਾਰੀ/ਏਡਿਡ/ਮਾਨਤਾ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਅਤੇ ਪ੍ਰਾਈਵੇਟ ਸਕੂਲਾਂ…

— Harjot Singh Bains (@harjotbains) July 16, 2023

“The heads and management committees of all the schools are also instructed to ensure that the school buildings are safe for the students at their level today and they will be responsible for all kinds of safety of the students,” the minister added.

“If any school or locality is flooded or any school building is damaged, the Deputy Commissioners of the respective districts will declare a holiday only in those schools,” Bains said about closing of schools.

The government had announced school closure from July 11 to 13 initially and had extended the closure to July 16 due to heavy rains in the state on instructions of the state chief minister Bhagwant Mann.