Nagpur: State education department on Friday cancelled its order issued a day before curtailing Diwali vacations to just five days. The new circular now has scheduled vacations to begin with immediate effect and go on till November 20.
Though the latest circular does not mention any reason, it seems the backlash from both teachers and parents forced the department to make a U-turn. Education department had earlier cited technicalities that mandate a minimum number of school days and completion of course, as a reason for curtailing Diwali vacations.
Shubra Roy, a senior teacher at Somalwar School (Ramdaspeth), said it was good the vacation had been extended. “It was obvious the earlier schedule was too short. There has to be a decent interval between academics to keep minds of students fresh,” said Roy.
Ashok Gavhankar, principal of Raosaheb Thawre school and junior college, said, “One has to wonder why the department takes decision that it will be forced to retract in 24 hours. Online teaching has been going on since April in most of the schools with no break for either teachers or students. Everyone needs time off to refresh.”
Yogesh Pathare, a parent, said government should not have meddled with the schedule. “What was the point of citing guidelines in a year where nothing is normal. When you are facing a global pandemic, everything cannot function as it did earlier. It was an unnecessary intervention by the education department and it is no surprise they had to change it so soon,” said Pathare.
However, there are academics who feel curtailing vacation is not such a bad idea. Madhusudhan Mude, principal of Major Hemant Jakate School, said, “They could have kept it for 10 days rather than two weeks. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to complete the syllabus. Online education in vernacular schools is already struggling, so we could do with some extra working days.”
Vijay Wadibhasme, teacher at Saraswati Vidyalaya, said, “Course completion is the key but it has to be done in a proper way. And for that teachers do need more time. But it is a decision by the government and we will follow it.”
Sundip Gaikwad, principal of Mecosabagh Methodist High School, said, “Vacation schedule could have been something in between the two. There is a lot of academic and administrative work to be done and we could use every working day available.”