Bengal prepones summer vacation in state schools

Kolkata: The state School Education department on Thursday notified that the summer holidays in the state schools are being pre-scheduled with effect from May 2 and at the same time directed the school authorities to make suitable arrangements for conducting extra classes once the school reopens.

The department wants to ensure that the students would not face any difficulty due to the loss of working days owing to holidays getting advanced and so the school authorities have been directed to take extra classes after the school reopens.

The holidays have been advanced considering the heatwave and prevailing situation. The teaching and non-teaching staff have also been asked to remain on leave during the period till school reopens. However, they will have to attend school if the headmaster of their respective schools deems their presence necessary and calls them.

The schools will remain closed from May 2, till further notification from the state government in this regard.

The schools affiliated with the ICSE and CBSE boards have also been asked to consider the decision taken by the state government on this issue of declaring early summer holidays.

In the previous notification, the summer holidays were slated to start in the 4th week of May.

Meanwhile, several districts in South Bengal like Hooghly, East Midnapore and Malda have advanced the timing for primary schools. The schools will be held in the morning, instead of the usual afternoon schedule.

The order regarding the pre-scheduling of summer holidays will not be effective in the hilly districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong where the weather is comfortable.