MANGALURU: Schools and colleges in Dakshina Kannada will conduct full-day classes on Saturdays for six weeks as the district administration has declared more than seven days as holidays because of heavy rain. chools have already been instructed orally to compensate on Saturdays for the lost class hours. The same rule will apply to colleges that will move to online classes if more holidays are declared.
An official in the department of public instruction said that though a week of school was lost already, it will not make much impact on mandatory working days. “The reason is that this academic year has begun 15 days earlier, compared to other academic years. Usually, schools begin on June 1, but it started in the second week of May this year. Therefore, one week of class loss will not make a big difference. However, there is an oral instruction from the DPI to schools to make arrangements during weekends to compensate for the lost study hours,” the official said.
Another official pointed out that teachers were happy to work on Saturdays in government, aided and unaided schools. “The only arrangement that schools have to make is the mid-day meal when classes are held Saturday afternoon. There may be special classes for SSLC students on Sundays as well,” the official said.
Deputy commissioner KV Rajendra hinted that there would be no more holidays declared across the district. The rainy-day holidays will be area-specific. “As of now, the district administration is prepared to tackle the monsoon. The decision to declare holidays for school/college will be left to local authorities. Meanwhile, parents and schools can decide whether to send their children to school depending on the situation. To compensate for missed hours, the schools will conduct full-day classes on Saturdays for six weeks,” Rajendra said.
Mangalore University vice-chancellor PS Yadapadithaya said colleges have been asked to shift to online classes if rain holidays are extended. They can also conduct full-day classes on weekends.
