Thiruvananthapuram: The government is considering a revision of teaching hours in higher secondary schools, with a proposal to increase the current class period duration of forty-five minutes to one hour. The plan was outlined in a letter from the Director of General Education to the regional deputy directors of the Higher Secondary Department.

Officials said the move is being evaluated in connection with the determination and the upcoming completion of the school consolidation process.

One of the main arguments for the change is that the existing forty-five-minute schedule is insufficient for teaching science subjects, where practical sessions require longer instructional hours. In colleges, class durations are typically set at one hour.

The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) is currently revising the higher secondary curriculum, and any agreement on new period durations could take effect once the updated syllabus is finalised.

Instead of creating new posts to manage fluctuations in student numbers across districts, the government is exploring the possibility of reallocating existing positions. As part of this, it is considering increasing the period length to one hour and setting a workload of 15 hours per week for teachers to qualify as senior teachers.

However, teachers’ organisations have raised concerns that shifting from period-based to hour-based post determination could adversely affect existing positions. At present, posts are calculated by the number of periods taught; under the proposed system, they would be based on total teaching hours.

Critics argue that the change could result in many senior teachers being downgraded, alleging that the government’s broader strategy is to redeploy staff rather than create new posts.