School academic calendar: committee proposes increase in working hours
A five-member expert committee constituted to study issues related to the academic calendar in government and aided schools has recommended that working hours be extended by starting schools half an hour early and closing later, again by half an hour, to meet the requirement of minimum number of working days/instructional hours in an academic year as specified in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act.
It proposes a five-day week for students. If Saturday is a working day for students, it should be limited to one Saturday a month.
The RTE lays down 800 instructional hours for class I to V and 1,000 hours for classes VI to VIII. For high school and higher secondary classes in the State, 1,200 hours were proposed as in the National Credit Framework.
The committee report underlines the need for arts and sports periods in the school timetable to be used only for those activities. Arts and sports competitions and meets should be held on Saturdays.
It proposes increasing the time for two intervals given to children other than the lunch break.
The committee, under the aegis of the State Council of Educational Research and Training, submitted its report to Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty on Tuesday.
The report will be examined by the government for implementation in the coming academic year, the Minister said at a press conference.
The committee, comprising V.P. Joshith, head, department of Education, Central University of Kerala; Amar Fettle, State nodal officer, adolescent health, National Health Mission; Deepa Bhaskaran, assistant professor in developmental paediatrics, Child Development Centre, Thiruvananthapuram; Jayaraj S., former consultant, Samagra Shiksha, Kerala; and M.P. Narayanan Unni, former faculty member of the State Council of Educational Research and Training, met stakeholders such as students, parents, teachers, students and teachers' organisations, and school counsellors.
It was set up on the directions of the High Court to study how many hours/instructional days will be needed for classroom transaction for curricular and co-curricular activities as envisaged in the current curriculum and if adequate time/days were not available, how to make up for the shortfall without affecting students' physical, mental, and emotional development.
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