Schools in West Bengal were earlier asked to declare an early summer break from May 2. SOURCE: Edugraph File Photograph
The West Bengal government has asked all schools in the state to extend the summer vacation till June 26.
The West Bengal school education department had earlier issued a letter to the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) and the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE), advising them to declare early summer vacation from May 2 to June 15 in view of the then prevailing heatwave condition in the state.
Private schools in state that had been continuing with offline classes after the heatwave subsided declared an early summer vacation from May 9 after being urged by the school education department to suspend classes.
A fresh notice signed by Manish Jain, principal secretary to the government of West Bengal, was issued on June 13. “….the competent authority has decided to extend the summer vacation till 26th June, 2022, or until further instructions whichever is earlier…. This order is issued considering the safety and security of the students in mind.” said the letter addressed to the WBBSE and WBBPE presidents. Schools in the hilly areas of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts are exempt from the advisory.
Monsoon has arrived in north Bengal but is yet to reach Kolkata and other parts of south Bengal. The maximum temperature has been hovering around 35°C on most days.
Teachers have been worried that the long summer break will affect the school-going habit of students who had suffered a setback during two years of the COVID-19 pandemic when in-person classes could not be held.