When temperatures are going above 45 degrees Celsius in various districts,expecting teachers to return immediately from June 1 would have been too much ah.
Madhya Pradesh government announced on May 30 that new academic session will now commence on June 16 . At same time,summer vacation for teachers has been extended by additional seven days because of ongoing heatwave conditions.
So instead of reporting back on June 1,teachers are now expected to join work on June 7 . Small change on paper maybe,but for people actually travelling,working in schools and handling duties in this kind of heat,it matters .
School Education Department issued notification and mentioned extreme heat as one reason . It also said many teachers are already busy with census responsibilities along with board examination duties,so pressure was clearly there from multiple sides .
Few things standing out clearly in this decision:
- New academic session in Madhya Pradesh will commence on June 16.
- Teachers will now report back on June 7 instead of June 1 due to heatwave conditions.
- Second phase of 'School Chalen Hum' initiative will also launch on June 16 .
And tbh,this is one of those decisions where health issue and school planning are both mixed together . Government also wants educational activities to resume properly,but not at cost of teachers falling sick in extreme temperature .
The 'School Chalen Hum' initiative,which translates to 'Let’s Go to School,' is also being pushed again to increase student enrollment and bring dropout children back to classrooms . State Education Centre has asked District Collectors to arrange special activities during campaign period,which will continue until June 30 .
From June 16,government has also planned 'Shala Prarambh Utsav' in all government and Sandipani schools . Officials have been asked to identify out-of-school children and ensure their readmission through active outreach,which sounds good but actual ground work will decide everything.
Child Tracking System through 'Hamare Shikshak App' is expected to help monitor students who have dropped out . On paper,this sounds like proper system only,but in villages and smaller areas,real question is whether every child actually gets followed up or again some names just remain inside app…
