With rise in mercury and spike in Covid cases across the State, the School Education and Literacy Department has decided to change school timing along with suspending sports and cultural activities in school. The School Education and Literacy Department has decided to conduct classes from 6am to 10.30am in view of the heatwave sweeping through the state.
Recently, State education minister Jagarnath Mahato said the government will issue a notification for schools to reschedule class timings. “Classes will now be held from 6am to 10.30am in all government and private schools of Jharkhand,” Mahato said after a cabinet meeting in Ranchi on April 26.
This is the third change in the timing of government schools in the state. The state government had fixed the operating time of government schools from 7am to 1pm from April 1. The timings were later changed, following protests by teachers' unions, and schools were asked to hold classes from 6am to noon. But the severe heat has prompted the Jharkhand government to curtail school hours.
The first-term examinations will be held in government primary schools of Jharkhand from May 2 to 15. The test will be taken on OMR sheets and will include objective-type questions, it was decided at a meeting of the school education and literacy department.
Teachers of government schools will get a summer vacation of two weeks. According to the annual calendar of schools, summer vacation is scheduled from May 17 to June 4.
The proceedings of the meeting have been sent to all district education officers and district education superintendents for necessary action.
Also, in view of the rising Covid-19 cases in some states of the country, the Jharkhand School Education and Literacy Department has asked schools to suspend morning assembly, cultural programmes and sports activities. As per the new guideline, the schools have been asked to conduct health checkups on a regular basis in coordination with nearest health centres and district administrations have been directed to ensure random COVID-19 test of students and teachers. Morning assembly, cultural programmes and sports activity will remain suspended in schools, an official release said.
The School Education and Literacy department has issued a fresh COVID-19 guideline for schools in Jharkhand in the light of rising COVID-19 cases in some states.
The School Education and Literacy Department secretary Rajesh Kumar Sharma in a letter to all deputy commissioners, district education officers and district superintendents of education, has asked them to follow COVID-19 guidelines in a bid to restrict the spread of the disease.