Mangaluru: Schools across Dakshina Kannada have been directed to conduct full-day classes every Saturday from September 12 to compensate for the academic time lost due to prolonged monsoon disruptions in the district.
The directive has been issued by the Deputy Director of the Department of School Education and Literacy, covering both primary and high schools. The move is aimed at helping schools recover lost instructional hours and complete the syllabus within the academic calendar.
Heavy rains caused extended school closures
Dakshina Kannada witnessed spells of heavy rainfall during the monsoon, forcing the district administration to announce emergency holidays in several taluks.
According to the Daijiworld report, schools were closed for more than 10 days on account of the weather-related disruptions. The extended closures affected the regular academic schedule and resulted in a backlog in syllabus completion for both government and private institutions.
With schools now functioning normally, education authorities have opted to use weekends and additional academic sessions to recover the lost teaching hours.
Saturdays changed from half-day to full-day
Under the new arrangement, the usual half-day Saturday schedule will be extended to a full day starting September 12.
School administrations have been instructed to prepare their own catch-up schedules based on the academic requirements of their students. In addition to full-day Saturday classes, schools have been asked to organise special remedial sessions to help students cover portions of the syllabus that were affected by the unexpected closures.
The department has also directed schools to make use of the remaining general calendar holidays, wherever necessary, to ensure that the required number of instructional hours is completed.
Schools asked to maintain records
While individual school managements have been given operational flexibility to plan their academic recovery programmes, they have also been instructed to maintain proper records.
Attendance details, schedules and logs of additional classes are expected to be systematically documented. These records could be reviewed during departmental inspections to verify that the additional teaching sessions are being conducted as directed.
The requirement applies to schools across Mangaluru and other taluks in Dakshina Kannada, covering both government and private institutions.
Revised schedules communicated to parents
Several schools have already begun informing students and parents about the revised working arrangements.
The change comes into effect from Saturday, September 12, meaning students will attend a complete academic day instead of the usual Saturday half-day schedule.
The department’s decision is intended to minimise the impact of the monsoon-related disruptions on students’ academic progress. By adding teaching hours on Saturdays and through special classes, schools are expected to work towards bringing syllabus completion back on schedule.
Focus on completing the syllabus
The additional working days are particularly important for schools that lost substantial teaching time during the heavy-rain period. Teachers and school managements will have to balance the recovery schedule with students’ regular academic workload.
The decision also gives schools a defined framework for addressing the curriculum gap while allowing individual institutions to decide how best to distribute the additional sessions.
For students and parents, the immediate change will be the restoration of full-day Saturday classes. Schools will continue to communicate any further changes to their academic schedules through their respective managements.
Conclusion
The decision to introduce full-day Saturday classes in Dakshina Kannada is aimed at recovering teaching hours lost during the prolonged monsoon disruptions. Starting September 12, schools will use Saturdays, remedial sessions and, where required, remaining calendar holidays to work towards completing the syllabus on schedule.