Imposition of academic calendar of 220 days a ploy to hide flaws: NTU

Protests against government's attempt to increase working days in schools, leading to mass leave by teachers.

The decision to impose an academic calendar of 220 days on schools is a government ploy to conceal its flaws, National Teachers’ Union (NTU) State unit president P.S. Gopakumar has said.

He was speaking after inaugurating a dharna organised by the union in front of the Directorate of General Education here on Thursday in protest against making Saturday a working day in alleged disregard for the Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009.

Mr. Gopakumar alleged that the government was deliberately trying to agitatethe education sector. The General Education department claimed that everything was set in the new academic year. However, nearly 6,000 teacher posts were vacant in government schools alone. Besides, hundreds of teachers in aided schools were awaiting approval for their appointment. Higher secondary teacher transfer was mired in confusion for months. School midday meal scheme rates have been lowered for lower primary students by ₹2. It was to divert attention from these and other issues that the government was trying to impose an academic calendar of 220 working days on the pretext of a case in the High Court. However, the government approach to court orders was common knowledge. It had waged a legal battle to overcome the stipulation of test qualification for promotion of primary head teachers. Court orders on appointment of high school English teachers and of librarians were not being implemented.

The union, in a statement, said that many Saturdays were already being utilised for various school fairs, festivals and club activities. The RTE Act laid down 800 working hours for lower primary classes and 1,000 hours for upper primary classes. This too was being ignored by the department. It had failed to take into account the mental pressure on young children if they were made to attend school for six days a week.

“It will not be possible to implement the court verdict if students were given holidays for five teacher cluster meetings. How would this be implemented by the department?” Mr. Gopakumar asked.

NTU State vice-president K. Smitha presided.

Meanwhile, the Kerala Pradesh School Teachers’ Association (KPSTA) has decided to stage protests against the unilateral imposition of 220 working days.