The school education department issued a notice on Thursday announcing the early start of summer vacation in government and government-aided schools because of the prevailing heatwave.
The summer vacation was scheduled to start on May 6. It will now start on April 22, Monday.
The schools will reopen on June 3.
Highlights of the notice issued by the school education department on Thursday:
- Schools from the hill areas of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts have been exempted from the change. The schools in these areas may continue with their existing academic schedule.
- The teaching and non-teaching staff of the schools going into an early break have been told to make the necessary arrangements for extra classes after the schools reopen to make up for the lost time.
- The early break will be applicable to teachers and non-teaching staff as well. The notice says they will remain on leave as a special case, subject to the directions issued by the election authorities in view of the Lok Sabha polls.
- The school education department has sent a copy of the notice on early summer break to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE).
An education department official said they have requested these two boards to start
the summer break on April 22 in the schools affiliated to them.
“A heatwave-like condition is prevailing. In this situation, it is advisable not to send students to school,” the official said.
In 2022, government officials had called up several private schools that continued with their usual routine even after the government
announced an early break. The schools were “requested” to go for an early summer break.
Last year, too, the summer vacation was brought forward because of excessive heat and the private schools were sent a copy of the government notification. Unlike 2022, the school heads did not have to be called up as they complied with the notification.
The earlier roster, published on December 23, before the announcement of the dates of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, said government and government-aided schools would be on vacation from May 9 to May 20.
“On Thursday, the summer vacation was further extended because of the heatwave-
like conditions. If the schools don’t take compensatory classes, the students will suffer. They won’t be able to write the summative examinations. So extra classes will have to be taken to make up for the loss,” said an official of the department.
