Haryana government schools to get books on time for new academic session

GURUGRAM: The Haryana government has decided to provide books to school students on the first day of the new academic session, which starts in April. Earlier, government school students had to wait for 4-5 months to get new books. Additionally, the government has directed a ‘no homework’ policy for primary schools in the state.
Officials said books for all classes have been dispatched to all the schools in the state, and will reach them by March 31. Books under the ‘e-service’ will be ready by May 2019.

Dr Rakesh Gupta, project director of the Directorate of Secondary Education, Haryana School Education Project Council, said, “The books will be sent directly to schools by publishers.” A nodal officer has been appointed in the education department to resolve information issues regarding distribution of books, he added.

Meanwhile, schools have been asked not to assign any homework or prescribe subjects other than language and mathematics to students of classes I and II, and only language, EVS and mathematics for students of classes III to V, following the SCERT and NCERT syllabi.

In a circular, the department mentioned, “Schools will have to follow the textbooks prescribed by the state academic authority (SCERT), government of Haryana or national academic authority (NCERT).”

The five-page guideline further states, “Schools should discourage copying and memorising textbooks during and after school hours. Reading library books and participating in co-curricular activities for holistic development of children must be encouraged.”