Kerala Education department to rearrange working days of school academic year

A School Quality Improvement Programme (QIP) monitoring committee will also check the number of working days and recommend DEOs to plan the working days on Saturdays.
Image used for representational purpose only. (File photo | PTI)
Image used for representational purpose only. (File photo | PTI)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The General Education Department has decided to rearrange the working days of the school academic year as part of compensating the days lost due to rain and floods.  

As first step, the department has directed all District Educational Officers (DEO) to hold school-level meetings to include Saturday as a working day to complete the minimum working days of 200. However, Christmas examination and final examinations will be held as per schedule, top officers of the Education Department told Express.

A Shahjahan, General Education Secretary, told Express the decision on which Saturdays would be included as holidays will have to be decided by the respective DEOs in the affected districts. “The DEOs will rearrange the working days of schools based on the holidays given to them on account of rain and floods. In some districts, more holidays were given and hence Saturdays will be working days based on the number of holidays. The rearrangement is underway. Since there were no Onam examinations, we are planning to make up the classes lost before the second term examinations itself,” Shajahan said.

He also said the SSLC and HSE examinations will be held as per schedule and there is no room for any postponement.

A School Quality Improvement Programme (QIP) monitoring committee will also check the number of working days and recommend DEOs to plan the working days on Saturdays. Second Saturdays will be holidays as usual.

Last year too, the department targeted 200 working days, but could only achieve 172 days. Earlier, the higher secondary directorate’s decision to assign a few Saturdays as working days in order to ensure at least 200 academic days this year has kicked up a storm. Various teachers’ unions had decried the directorate’s decision calling it a move to further ‘overburden’ both the teachers and students.

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