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Samastha proposes holiday cuts, shift change

Samastha proposes holiday cuts, shift change

Time of India16-07-2025
Kozhikode: Samastha said it will present alternative proposals before general education minister V Sivankutty when he meets its representatives to discuss the ongoing controversy over revised school timings.
Samastha will ask him to extend school hours till 4.30pm instead of starting classes 15 minutes earlier in the morning. Samastha is likely to argue that this would be a more practical adjustment. At present, under the revised schedule, schools function from 9.45am to 4.15pm with 15 more minutes added in the morning and evening sessions.
Sources said that if this is not acceptable to the govt, Samastha will ask it to reduce the number of holidays granted for festivals or readjust the annual vacation to ensure that the mandatory 1100 academic working hours are met.
Earlier, Sivankutty had contacted Samastha president Syed Jifri Muthukoya Thangal, expressing willingness to hold discussions. But he also made it clear that the govt will not change the new timings.
But IUML questioned the purpose of the upcoming meeting with the minister saying that the govt's firm stand left no room for a dialogue. "What is the relevance of such a meeting when the minister has declared that there won't be a change in school timings," asked IUML state general secretary PMA Salam.
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On Tuesday, Samastha's joint coordination committee and its affiliated organizations had decided to intensify protests if the govt did not take a favourable action on its school timings demand.
In June, govt had issued an order extending the timings of Classes VIII to X in govt, aided and unaided schools under the state syllabus by 15 minutes in morning and afternoon sessions, except Fridays. The change was incorporated to meet the target of 220 working days and ensure 1100 instructional hours as stipulated by the Right to Education Act and Kerala Education Rules.
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