Claim: The Government of Punjab announced that all educational institutions will remain closed from 25 January to 28 January 2024.
Fact: Educational institutions are to remain open since no formal government notification was issued.
On 24 January 2024, news started to spread that all educational institutions in Punjab have been recommended to close from 25 January to 28 January in light of security threats and political unrest, but the final decision has not been announced.
Many people have taken to respective social media platforms and spread the news alongside an image containing a notification from the Interior Ministry of the Government of Punjab regarding the closure.
Multiple news organisations reported the event as well. However, they did not provide a definitive answer as to whether the news was fake or not; speculation persisted regarding the news.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check’s investigation revealed that the news initially surfaced as speculation..
It is possible that since educational institutions remained closed in Islamabad on 22 January 2024 due to the threat of a terrorist attack, this news seemed to be true. However, educational institutions in Punjab did not receive any formal notification regarding the closure and remained open in the days between 25 and 28 January.
Soch Fact Check also got in touch with the Punjab Schools Education Department. Zohaib Riaz, the personal secretary of the CEO of Education for the Lahore District, confirmed to us that the news was fake and that no such notification was issued by the Interior Ministry of Punjab. Riaz further reiterated that all the educational institutions in Punjab were open as usual in the days between 25 and 28 January.
Virality
The news has gained traction on several social media platforms and has raised a lot of confusion from students, teachers and the like.
We found posts sharing this information on Facebook here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On Twitter we found posts here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, viewed over 63,000 times.
Conclusion: The Government of Punjab did not announce that all educational institutions will remain closed from 25 January to 28 January 2024.
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Background image in cover photo: Punjab Portal
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