THE war in the Middle East has had several unanticipated consequences, among them one which requires a little more concern from the authorities than has been shown. Anticipating fuel shortages from the jolts to the global energy supply chain, Pakistan had moved to suspend regular schooling, announced extended holidays and enforced online classes till the end of March. As education is a provincial subject, each of the provinces went about implementing these measures in its own way. With regular classes resuming in schools, colleges and universities from April 1, patchwork decision-making has been seen once again, with Punjab mandating in-person classes four days of the week, though it earlier said five, and Sindh and Balochistan going with a five-day schedule. KP had taken a longer view by announcing four-day classes for two months from March 10. Meanwhile, the war continues to rage, and there’s no saying when global energy supply lines will be restored to normal, and there is a risk of more disruptions in the days ahead. It must be asked, therefore, if the initial decision to suspend regular classes was taken in haste, or if the resumption has come earlier than it perhaps should have.
Any decision that interrupts children’s schooling should be taken with great deliberation. The authorities should have considered that quite some time has elapsed since the Covid-19 era, during which many schools had taken time to gradually develop remote learning systems for their students. In the recent case, neither schools, nor parents, teachers and children were given enough time to adjust to the remote learning mandate, meaning that, in all likelihood, most students did not receive adequate instruction and simply enjoyed an extended break. The risk has not diminished that, if the war drags on and further austerity measures become imperative, they may once again be expected to take classes remotely. This would prove to be considerably disruptive, especially for younger students who usually take some time to develop the discipline needed to meaningfully benefit from online classes. Then there is also the impact of such decisions on parents. Online classes require dedicated electronic devices for each child, which may not be immediately available. Working mothers also face the added stress of having to juggle their responsibilities while arranging supervision for their children. All of this should have been thought through before the respective governments made their moves.
Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2026.
