Thiruvananthapuram: The schools across the state are set to welcome students on Monday, with the new academic year bringing a series of changes to the academic schedule. Unlike previous years, the General Education Department has introduced several revisions to the school calendar.

One major change this year is an extension of class hours for high school students, with an additional 30 minutes of study time introduced. However, the extra class will not be held on Fridays. The Saturdays will now be working days for students from Classes 2 and above, including upper primary and high school sections.

The first two weeks of the academic year will feature a special hour each day dedicated to moral education, civic sense, and social responsibility. The session begins on Tuesday with an anti-drug awareness campaign.

New textbooks have been introduced this academic year for students in Classes 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10. However, not all schools have received the textbooks yet due to delays in the printing process.

High schools will also begin training students in Artificial Intelligence and robotics, with new IT textbooks rolled out for Classes 8, 9, and 10 to support this initiative.

The state-level inauguration of the new academic year will be held at Kalavoor Government Higher Secondary School in Alappuzha, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan officially launching the academic activities. The education department expects around 2.5 lakh children to begin Class 1 this year.

Another notable change is the extension of the post-lunch interval to 10 minutes. To accommodate this, five minutes will be deducted from the one-hour lunch break. Students will now have two 10-minute intervals — one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Minimum mark criteria introduced

Education Minister V. Sivankutty announced that subject-wise minimum marks will be implemented for Classes 5, 6, 7, and 9. The move aims to improve academic standards rather than penalise students. Those failing to meet the minimum requirements will undergo a three-week special training program before being re-evaluated.

The minister also noted with concern the drop in the number of A+ scorers in last academic year's SSLC exams, saying the issue is being taken seriously.