Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat on Friday clarified that all schools and colleges across the province will reopen on January 12.

The clarification comes after a reportedly fake notification circulated on social media claiming that winter vacations in Punjab had been extended from January 10 to 17.

However, the education minister rebuffed claims of extending winter holidays, urging the public to “avoid fake news.”

Earlier this week, he had also denied any extension of the winter holidays.

Later in the evening, the education minister posted a poll on his X account, asking people about when schools and colleges in Punjab should reopen. The two options were January 12 and 19.

Around 11:30pm on January 9, 82.5 per cent of users were in favour of January 19, while 17.5pc for January 12.

Commenters seemed in favour of reopening institutions on the later date, due to the increasing cold in the province, while others noted that January 19 would be peak cold in Punjab. Another user questioned why the minister was using an X poll to begin with.

The Punjab government had announced winter vacations for all public and private schools and colleges from December 22 to January 10.

According to the official notification, schools and colleges were scheduled to reopen on January 12.

A day ago, a fake notification claiming to have been issued by Punjab’s School Education Department went viral on social media, spreading confusion among parents and students.

The notification claimed that “due to severe weather conditions,” the vacations had been extended until January 17, and that schools would reopen on January 19.