Goa: The schedule of the new academic year 2017-18 by and large remains unchanged as the education department has decided to continue with five and half hours of schooling on a daily basis and 200 instructional days all through the year.
The discretionary holidays have been increased from eight in 2016-17 to 10 in the coming academic year, while the total working days including the examination days from primary to higher secondary schools have been reduced to 234 in comparison with 236 in the last academic year.
“The total number of working days….shall not be less than 234 days and total number of instructional days shall not be less than 200 days during the academic year 2017-18. Second term examination should be held only after the completion of 200 instructional days,” a circular issued by Education Director G P Bhat said.
The first summative/mid-term exams, he said, shall preferably from October 9 while the second summative/terminal examination shall preferably be before March 30, 2017. The exams results shall not be declared before April 30, 2018. Whereas in the just-concluded current academic year, the first summative exams’ date was after October 15, 2016 while the date for the second exam was the same. The results this time was not declared before April 28, 2017.
The department has divided the first term from June 5 when the schools would re-open for the new academic year till October 17, 2017 and the second term will be held from November 6, 2017 to April 30, 2018.
The festival holidays include Ganesh Chaturthi from August 23-29, 2017; Diwali from October 16-November 4, 2017; Christmas from December 23, 2017-January 1, 2018; and summer vacation from May 1, 2018 to June 2, 2018.
Bhat has also clarified that school instructional hours would be not less than five and half hours excluding recess break. A year after taking over the reins of the State in 2012, the BJP-led coalition increased the school timings by 30 minutes, summing it to five and half hours a day. Each period that previously ranged from 30-35 minutes was extended to 40 minutes.
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