Universities across Pakistan to reopen as HEC ends restrictions

Pakistan’s higher education regulator has directed all public and private universities to resume physical classes starting April 1, ending restrictions imposed earlier this month.

In a notification issued on Tuesday, the Higher Education Commission said universities and degree-awarding institutions (DAIs) must restart on-campus academic activities with immediate effect.

The directive was signed by HEC Executive Director Dr Zia Ul Haq and referred to an earlier communication dated March 10.

The notification, issued under the subject of implementing austerity and fuel conservation measures, instructed vice chancellors, rectors and heads of institutions to ensure full compliance.

The HEC said the directive had also been circulated to relevant federal and provincial education authorities to ensure coordinated implementation nationwide.

The move signals a return to normal academic operations after recent adjustments linked to energy conservation policies.

On Monday, Punjab Minister for School Education Rana Sikandar Hayat said that educational activities in the eastern province would resume from April 1, with classes taking place five days a week.

He made the statement in a post on the social media platform X and reiterated it in an official statement.

The minister said schools in Punjab would reopen April 1 and operate five days a week. He added that the “hybrid system” would not work and that classes would be held in person.

“Students should come to school and study,” he said.

On March 9, the provincial government had announced that educational institutions, including schools, colleges and universities, would remain closed from March 10 to March 31 amid a global fuel crisis triggered by the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.

On Monday, the Punjab government also said a notification circulating on social media about a four-day school week was fake.

In a post on X, the provincial government shared an image of the purported notification, which claimed schools would observe a four-day working week amid the ongoing crisis.

“The government of Punjab refutes the contents of this ‘fake’ notification regarding school schedules circulating on the internet, in the strongest of terms,” the statement said.

It advised parents and guardians to remain vigilant against unverified documents and to contact relevant government departments in case of ambiguity.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif again urged citizens to avoid unnecessary travel and support the government’s austerity drive introduced in response to the crisis in the Middle East linked to the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran.