-->
Race to finish syllabi begins

Race to finish syllabi begins

Students on the way to schools in Darjeeling after their reopening on Tuesday
Rajeev Ravidas, TT, Kalimpong, Oct. 3: Schools in the hills started reopening today after over 100 days but academics were worried if a race to finish the syllabus on time would burden children of lower classes and whether the statehood movement would keep foreign students away in the next academic year.
Even though the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha had withdrawn the indefinite strike from September 27, educational institutions could not reopen immediately because of the puja festivities.
Today was the first day after June 15 that some of the schools reopened and held regular classes. All other educational institutions, including colleges, are scheduled to start normal academic activities from October 9.
Most of the schools and colleges had announced puja holidays till October 8. Some of them have advanced the reopening date as major portions of their syllabi are pending.
"Kids with their bags going to schools is the best possible example of normality... It's good news that classes are resuming at schools," said a senior state government official.
While ICSE-affiliated boarding schools like St Joseph's (North Point) in Darjeeling, St Joseph's Convent in Kalimpong and Goethal's Memorial School in Kurseong resumed classes today, others like St Paul's and Mt Hermon in Darjeeling and Himali Boarding in Kurseong will reopen on October 9. St Agustine's and Dr Graham's Homes in Kalimpong will start holding regular classes from tomorrow.
Day schools, most of which are affiliated to the West Bengal Board for Secondary Education, like Turnbull and St Roberts in Darjeeling, too, reopened today, while Scottish Universities' Mission Institution in Kalimpong will resume classes on October 9.
"The strike did cast a shadow on normal academic activities and students did suffer a lot," said the principal of a prominent hill school.
The academic session in the hills generally is from February-March to November-December. Even those schools which end their sessions in November-end have almost decided to hold classes till Christmas. They will also hold special classes on Saturdays to finish the syllabus.
"We started from today and intend to continue up to near Christmas to make up for the massive amount of time lost," said Naveen Katwal, the principal of Glenhill Public School in Kurseong.
Teachers are, however worried if the children, especially the younger once, will be able to take the pressure of cramped up schedule, given the short time at their disposal to finish the syllabi.
"Just to get younger children into the study mode takes time. Political parties seem to think that imparting education to children is like turning on and off switches. It does not work that way," said Robindra Subba, the director of Himali Boarding.
Schools are also worried about the long-term impact of the statehood shutdown as the number of new admissions from next season are likely to dwindle. If the examples of the movements of the 1980s and 2013 are anything to go by, schools, especially those with boarding facilities, are expected to suffer a massive hit.
"The agitation of the 1980s had a major impact on schools in the hills. Even the 2013 stir affected us. This time, I am afraid, it is likely to be worse because outside students have a choice with good schools being set up in their own backyard now," said a veteran educationist.

Related Posts

0 Response to "Race to finish syllabi begins"

Post a Comment

Disclaimer Note:
The views expressed in the articles published here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or perspective of Kalimpong News or KalimNews. Kalimpong News and KalimNews disclaim all liability for the published or posted articles, news, and information and assume no responsibility for the accuracy or validity of the content.
Kalimpong News is a non-profit online news platform managed by KalimNews and operated under the Kalimpong Press Club.

Comment Policy:
We encourage respectful and constructive discussions. Please ensure decency while commenting and register with your email ID to participate.

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.