Abhijit Ray, Kolkata:Several classes will be lost as the school’s summer break approaches. Therefore, the School Education Department has directed teachers to take extra classes when schools reopen. The summer vacation will begin in schools across the state onthe second day of May and a notification in this regard was issued on Thursday.As per the earlier schedule, the summer vacation at the school was scheduled to begin on May 24. In other words, this year’s summer vacation has come 22 days ahead. It’s unclear when the summer break will end. Teachers and teaching staff of the school have been instructed to decide to compensate for the loss of classes during the indefinite summer vacation by taking extra classes.The people of the state are reeling under intense burning. Heatwave warnings have been issued in several districts of the state for three consecutive days since Thursday. In such a situation, the state’s decision to extend the school summer vacation was known only on Wednesday. On Thursday, the department sent a letter to the president of the Board of Intermediate Education and Primary Education (WBBPE) asking him to declare summer vacation in subordinate schools from May 2.As per the guidelines, a notification will be issued again when schools will reopen. The summer vacation is not starting right now in the hilly areas of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts. The school will run according to the current academic schedule. Meanwhile, teachers and teaching staff have also been given leave during this period along with the students. According to the notification, they will be on leave on a special basis during this period or till schools reopen. At the same time, it has been ordered to take additional classes when the school opens to compensate for the loss of education due to the closure of the school earlier. Animesh Halder, on behalf of the Secondary Teachers and Education Workers Association, said, “In most cases, it is not possible to implement the additional classes that have been talked about after the opening of the school.In declaring such a long holiday, the Education Department should take a decision through joint discussion with the representatives of recognized teachers’ associations, and meteorological and health departments.
