Govt likely to conduct Saturday classes in schools till board exams

Soon after the quarterly exams, a series of holidays were declared after the heavy rainfall which occurred during this northeast monsoon period. In addition, many festivals, including Deepavali, fell on a weekday. Moreover, the textbooks with the new syllabus this year, were also distributed late to many government and government aided schools across all districts. Similarly, the School Education Department also announced the extension of half-yearly holidays for students by four days due to the local body elections since many teachers were deployed for poll related duties.

A senior Directorate of School Education official told DT Next that many teachers also couldn’t cover all the portions of the syllabus on time. “They were forced to rush due to extended holidays,” he said. “Authorities are holding discussions to conduct classes on Saturday for the middle school so that teachers could complete the syllabus well before the annual and board exams,” he added.

At present, more than 40 lakh students studying in government and government-aided institutions from middle school level. Stating that board exams will be conducted for Class 5 and Class 8 students from this year, the official said, “The respective teachers should also prepare the children to appear for the board exams.”

Pointing out that there are 14 Saturdays till the end of this March, he said classes for 14 days would be helpful for not only the teachers but also especially for Classes 9, 10 and 12, who face board exams in the new curriculum. The official said that apart from working on Saturdays, the government is also planning to conduct special classes for board exam students.