Parents have heaved a sigh of relief in the wake of the instruction issued by the Directorate of School Education prohibiting conduct of special classes during summer vacation.

The Department of School Education has forwarded the circular issued by the Director of Matriculation Schools to every school in the district, a senior official said. The circular states that summer holidays are meant to safeguard students from contracting diseases that spread in extreme hot weather. The vacation will also serve the purpose of strengthening family relationships.

According to a former principal of a leading school, the circular has dealt a blow to many institutions that had been conducting summer classes as a ploy to prevent students from migrating to other schools.

Parents say the warning in the circular, that action will be taken on schools violating the rule, was a step in the right direction.

School education department sources say the circular also applies for CBSE schools run by private managements, but does not apply for Kendriya Vidyalayas that follow a different academic schedule. For the KVs in Chennai region, the summer vacation is from May 2 to June 20, for 50 days.

Summer vacation is the time of the year when students learn new life skills and gain environmental knowledge. The vacation is important to give the students a break from the academic stress, says Praveen Kumar, a parent of a student in a CBSE school run by a private management.

Unlike the KVs that also accords due importance for personality development, the sole focus of CBSE schools run by private managements is on academics. Concept-based learning is given a go by, and the emphasis is only on rote learning, defying the very purpose of the CBSE pattern, a senior teacher of Kendriya Vidyalaya says.