THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The General Education Department has decided to rearrange the working days of the school academic year as part of compensating the productive days lost due to heavy rain and floods. As part of its first step, the department has directed all the 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, the 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. “We have instructed the DEOs to look into the matter. They will rearrange the working days of schools based on the holidays given to them on account of rain and flood. In some districts, more holidays were given and hence Saturdays will be working days based on the number of holidays.
The rearrangement is underway it has been decided to include Saturdays as working days and conduct extra classes,” 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. Meanwhile, the second Saturdays will be holidays as usual. Last year too, the Education Department targeted 200 working days, but they could only achieve 172 working 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. Earlier, the DPI had made a suggestion to the government to postpone the SSLC examinations to April. due to loss of working days owing to rain, floods and Nipah virus outbreak. But the suggestion was not accepted by the QIP monitoring committee.
Batting for Saturday
A School Quality Improvement Programme monitoring committee will 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 Education Dept targeted 200 working days, but they could only achieve 172 working days