Kerala finalises school calendar for new academic year; Extra hours, working Saturdays and more

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government has finalised the academic calendar for the upcoming school year, following a stern warning from the High Court.

Key changes include an extension of daily class time for high school students by half an hour and additional working Saturdays for both upper primary (UP) and high school levels.

The decision was taken during an emergency meeting of the Education Quality Committee chaired by Education Minister V. Sivankutty. The move comes after the High Court warned that if the calendar was not finalised promptly, the Principal Secretary for General Education would be required to appear in person. With schools set to reopen on 2 June, the minister called the meeting on Friday to avoid potential contempt of court proceedings.

As per the revised calendar:

• High school students will have six additional working Saturdays and their daily classes will be extended by 30 minutes—except on Fridays—to ensure the mandated 1,200 hours of instruction.
• Upper primary classes will have two extra working Saturdays to meet the 1,000-hour academic requirement.
• Lower primary (LP) students will not have any additional Saturdays, as their academic schedule already fulfils the 800-hour requirement.

The calendar changes are based on the recommendations of an expert committee appointed by the government. The decision will now be formally communicated to the High Court.

Participants in the meeting included Director of Public Education S. Shanavas, along with representatives from several teacher organisations including T.K.A. Shafi (KSTA), O.K. Jayakrishnan (AKSTU), Hareesh Kadavath (KSTC), Thameemuddeen (KAMA), and M.K. Biju (KSTF).

However, several opposition teacher organisations boycotted the meeting, criticising the lack of proper notice. Groups such as KPSTA, KSTU, and NTU alleged that the meeting was scheduled hastily, with invitations sent via WhatsApp only the night before.