The Quality Improvement Project (QIP) monitoring committee for schools has recommended rescheduling of the SSLC examinations by a week.
The examinations are proposed to be held from March 13 to 27 to make up for the loss of working days owing to rain and Nipah virus outbreak. The proposed dates include March 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, and 27. The exam timetable will be drawn up accordingly.
There will be a change in the schedule of annual examinations in schools too. The dates suggested are March 15, 16, 22, 23, 28, and 29.
The school first term examinations have been pushed back by a day to August 31. This is to avoid any clash with the valedictory of the Onam Week celebrations on August 30. The first-term examinations of schools that function as per the Muslim calendar will also begin on this date.
The meeting also recommended that the possibility of conducting the SSLC and higher secondary examinations simultaneously in the morning be explored. The SSLC examinations are held in the afternoon.
The SSLC examinations were originally scheduled to begin on March 6 as per the education calendar. It was proposed at the meeting that the examinations be extended to April to achieve the 201 working days target for the academic year. However, this was opposed by teachers’ unions, who emphasised that on no account should the examinations go on till April, especially in wake of the Lok Sabha polls.
In order to make up for the loss of working days (it varies from district to district) owing to the inclement weather and Nipah virus outbreak, it was decided to conduct QIP meetings in each district under the Deputy Directors of Education (DDE). The meetings would decide on the number of days lost in each district and see how these could be made good by holding classes on Saturdays.
No extra-curricular activities should be held without the approval of the Director of Public Instruction (DPI) on school working days. No activities that cause harm to the secular character of schools should be conducted, the meeting said.
Meanwhile, the DPI, in a statement, said reports of a change in dates of the State school arts festival to be held in Alappuzha in December were baseless. No discussion had been held on changing the festival dates or venues.