After nearly three weeks shut, government schools and colleges in the capital are receiving students again. Islamabad schools reopen on late Sunday-night instructions from the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), the federal office for Islamabad’s government schools and colleges. An official of the FDE said most of the 38 affected campuses were told to resume classes, which would bring thousands of students back, according to TechJuice and ProPakistani. About 10 schools and colleges will stay closed, because police personnel are still on their premises.
Why the campuses were shut
From 24 September, the institutions were used to house police personnel deployed ahead of a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protest march. TechJuice reports that the closure was arranged so those personnel could be accommodated before the march, and ProPakistani gives the same account, linking the shutdown to PTI’s planned protest and its scheduled rally. The break ran for nearly three weeks, and routine teaching at the affected campuses stopped. Parents and teachers criticised the disruption, saying students had missed weeks of classes.
Late notice and thin attendance
The Islamabad schools reopening date was shared with schools only late on Sunday night. Both reports say that left administrations struggling to tell students and teachers in time. A principal said the short notice made contact difficult, and that attendance should improve by Tuesday once students had adjusted to the new timetable. Even with the order, the return is partial: most of the 38 institutions were told to reopen, while around 10 remain in police use.
H-9 College and academic progress
H-9 College was one of the campuses caught in the closure. It had recently secured a position in the Federal Board examinations for the first time in its history. A faculty member, ProPakistani reported, is concerned that so long a pause could affect that progress. TechJuice describes the same risk, that the interruption might unsettle academic gains the college had only just recorded.
Campuses still with the police
Islamabad schools reopen across most of the 38 sites covered by the FDE order, but the published accounts give no date for the roughly 10 schools and colleges that police have not left. Students enrolled there remain without classes while those buildings stay occupied. Where doors have opened, the sole forecast on attendance is the principal’s expectation of a stronger showing by Tuesday. The two reports also do not mention any plan to make up lessons lost since 24 September.
The two accounts agree on the sequence: closure from 24 September, a late Sunday instruction covering most of the 38 institutions, and continued police presence at about 10 of them. They also agree that the hour of the announcement left schools poorly placed to prepare families.
