Kerala Schools to Remove Holidays for Republic and Independence Days

Thiruvananthapuram: The Department of General Education in Kerala is planning to transform traditional Independence Day celebrations in schools into educational sessions. Instead of the usual flag hoisting, sweet distribution, and early dispersal, the focus will shift to educating students about the history and struggles behind India’s independence. This new approach will also be applied to other significant days like Gandhi Jayanti and Republic Day.

The goal behind this change is to turn these historically important days into learning opportunities rather than just holidays. By incorporating them into the academic calendar, the department aims to ensure that students engage in meaningful activities rather than simply having time off. This initiative could also help in maintaining the required number of instructional days.

A committee has been formed to explore strategies to achieve the target of 220 working days in an academic year. The Khader Committee had earlier recommended using such special days to impart knowledge instead of giving holidays. Currently, classes I to V require 200 working days with 800 study hours, while classes VI to VIII need 220 working days with 1,000 study hours. The Right to Education Act mandates these standards up to class VIII.

At present, Kerala schools average about 195 working days. To address this, the committee is considering several solutions. One option is to use Saturdays for academic activities, which could add seven more study days. Another proposal is to organize sports festivals on Saturdays to free up extra days for academics. Additionally, extending the school day by half an hour could add two more study days each month. These measures aim to meet the necessary working days for upper primary and high school students.