Private English-medium schools started their new academic session in April, but several are having to tweak their timetables or timings because many teachers are out to correct the answer scripts for the board examinations.

Schools have started an early session to compensate for the loss of lessons due to summer or heat wave, but are struggling to manage classes in the absence of teachers.

Sri Sri Academy, where about 10 teachers are out on correction duty, is getting over at 12.30pm for Classes IX, X and XII. The middle school is following the usual timing and finishing at 2.30pm.

At least two schools — Frank Anthony Public School and Sushila Birla Girls’ School — have drawn a timetable where teachers who are in school are moving ahead with the syllabus of their subjects.

The periods of these teachers would be allotted to the other teachers once they return to school after correction duty.

“We started the new session last week, but truncated the timings for Classes IX, X and XII till April 17 so that students do not sit idle in free periods when their teachers are away,” said Gargi Banerjee, principal, Sri Sri Academy.

The Heritage School, which started the new academic session in March, has shared worksheets with students to compensate for some of the classes.

For both ICSE and ISC a total of 38 teachers were out for correction, but 26 of them have come back. Twelve teachers are still out, a school official said.

Teachers’ out for correction is an annual activity in ICSE, ISC and CBSE schools.

Usually, teachers start going out for correction duty from March, depending on when the exam for their subject is over and the boards send the papers for correction.

Frank Anthony Public School, which started the academic session on April 1, said that teachers who are in school are taking extra classes of their subjects.

“Teachers will be up to date or may be ahead in their subject. But if we do not open because teachers are out, then every subject will suffer. In this way, at least in some subjects, students would be able to move ahead with the syllabus,” said Ian Myers, principal, Frank Anthony Public School.

The school had already mentioned in the diary that from May 2, they will have online classes. The timetable is ready, the principal said.

“We have realised that the heat pattern is going to be a permanent feature and we have to prepare for that. We made provision for that, anticipating a searing summer,” said Myers.

Sushila Birla Girls’ School said they have to manage by teachers swapping classes till the summer vacation.

“After the summer vacation, we are back to the original timetable,” said a school official.

St Augustine’s Day School Shyamnagar is another school that started in mid-March, taking into account the climatic changes.

“While this is a climactic change that we are experiencing every year, we also have to make use of the period when students are in school. We have planned our calendar in a way so that students are engaged in project work, activities that can be done even with several of the teachers not there in school,” said Rodney Borneo, principal of the school.