COVID-19: New academic year New academic year to be delayed
By Newsmeter Network Published on 3 April 2020 3:38 PM GMT
Hyderabad: The academic year 2020 will likely end without the completion of 220 days which is mandatory. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought much confusion regarding the new academic year that was set to commence soon.
According to the rules, any educational institution, whether a school or college, should have 220 working days, excluding the holidays. The teachers make schedules accordingly to complete the syllabus for the academic year.
During the RTC strike, all schools and colleges had an extra week of holidays which were adjusted by making second Saturdays working days. Now, with the Corona virus pandemic, all educational institutions have been shut down and the academic year is about to end without the completion of the required number of working days.
23 April was to be the last working day for schools. But all schools were shut down about a one-and-a-half month ago. The government of Telangana had declared holidays for all educational institutions from 15 to 31 March which had later been extended to 14 April after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called a nationwide lockdown. If schools re-open on 14 April, they will have just nine more working days. Summer is around the corner and the chances of making up for the 40 working days look bleak. The government is yet to take a call on the same.
The SSC examinations, which started on 19 March and were to end on 6 April, were postponed on 23 March. According to the academic schedule, the annual examinations for Classes I to IX were supposed to begin from 7 April. Even if the examinations begin on 15 April, the chances of completing the exams by 23 are bleak. As a result of this, schools are mulling promoting students of Classes I to IX. However, no such order has been passed yet. Officials of the educational department also seem to be unaware of the next move. As of now, the only thing that they can do is wait for the official news.
The possibility of schools starting the new academic year on 1 June is bleak. If the situations get better, the SSC examinations can be conducted this month. If not, it has to be conducted in May. This will also mean all teachers will have to work during the next month.
