Chandigarh education department fixes time slots for academic consultation at government schools

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It was observed that while some schools were opening at 9am, some were opening at 10am, and there was no one guideline on how long the session had to be. (HT FILE)

After the first week of schools opening for academic consultation for classes above 9, the UT education department has now issued fresh instructions for all government schools to maintain uniformity in the timings.

As per the instructions, two sessions will be conducted each day Monday onwards. The first session will be held for board classes 10 and 12 between 9am and 11.30am; the second session will be held for classes 9 and 11 from 12 noon to 2.30pm.

This comes after it was observed that while some schools were opening at 9am, some were opening at 10am, and there was no one guideline on how long the session had to be. Many teachers were complaining that they were having to take classes for more hours than those in other schools.

All government schools will now be open from 8.30am to 2.30pm, and the principals/heads/in-charge of each school will have to come in daily, sit for the entire duration to make sure all norms are being followed. Also, 50% of the teaching staff will be called for this duration, however, the timetable will be designed in a way that teachers visit on alternative days.

Teachers of middle and primary schools, however, will also have to come in even though students below Class 9 haven’t been allowed to come to school, yet. They will provide online classes when present in the school. Teachers who are unwell and take more than three holidays in a row will have to get a medical certificate.

DEO asks teachers to encourage students

As per sources, 950 students showed up at government schools on Monday, but the number dipped to 500 over the week. Teachers have been asked to motivate more students to come in the coming days by the district education officer (DEO).

The rules are meant only for government schools; private schools will remain open as per the standard operating procedures issued by the Union ministry of home affairs. Director school education Rubinderjit Singh Brar said, “From Monday onwards, students of classes 9 and 11 will be given a slot for the first time. They will be allowed to come to school with a printed copy of consent from their parents.”

Chairman of Vivek High School, Sector 38, and president of the Independent Schools Association, said, “We receive only two to four students in a day, so there is no point having slots like this.” He added that students were coming to the school after 2pm after attending online classes in the morning.

Director of Strawberry Fields High School, Sector 26, Atul Khanna said they had not received even a single student for academic consultation all week, but will wait for students to start coming before any slots are designated.

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