Chandigarh, May 14 — Schools in five Punjab districts bordering Pakistan resumed classes on Wednesday, six days after being shut down due to escalating military tensions between India and Pakistan, officials confirmed.
The Punjab government had ordered the closure of academic institutions on May 8 for three days amid rising cross-border hostilities. While schools in non-border districts reopened on Monday, institutions in six border districts remained closed for additional precautionary measures.
Punjab shares a 553-kilometre-long international border with Pakistan, covering the districts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Pathankot, Fazilka, Ferozepur, and Gurdaspur.
Among these, Gurdaspur reopened its schools on Tuesday, and the remaining five districts followed on Wednesday.
“We are reopening school today as per the government guidelines,” said a Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School teacher in Attari, Amritsar.
District authorities in Amritsar have adjusted school hours from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. as a safety measure. Meanwhile, in Pathankot, teachers reported encouraging 80 percent student attendance on the first day of reopening. "We appeal to all parents to send their children to school," a teacher urged.
Normalcy has returned mainly to Punjab’s border regions, with bustling markets and the full resumption of academic activities.
The reopening comes after India and Pakistan reached an agreement on May 10 to cease military operations, ending four days of cross-border drone and missile exchanges.