News
Schools resume on familiar schedule
State schools and semi government schools will resume classes from this week.
Grades six to 13 will have classes from 7. 30 a.m. to 1. 30 p.m. from September 2. Primary grades will begin as usual from September 8.
Reverting to the 7. 30 a.m.-1.30 p.m. timetable considered convenience, Education Ministry officials said. Previously, the duration of classes had been from 7.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m.
“We wanted to go back to normal,” said Education Ministry Secretary, Kapila Perera. It was decided to permanently reopen schools after meetings with zonal directors of education and other officials where the concerns of parents and teachers were considered.
Preparations for the Grade 5 Scholarship Exam, O/Levels and A/Levels started much earlier, in August, to cover syllabuses. The Scholarship Exam will be on October 11. The A/Levels will start on October 12. Schools will be closed during this period, but open again on November 9.
The third term will continue till the end of December, the Education Ministry said. The year-end vacation is likely to last just a week from December 24. Officials had mixed views about a vacation, but had decided in favour of a break as there were holidays scattered throughout the week in question.
The Ceylon Teacher’s Union, General Secretary, Joseph Stalin, welcomed the return to the 7.30 a.m.-1.30 p.m. timetable, saying the earlier schedule had been difficult for teachers and students. Canteens were closed and some travelled from afar to get to school. “Children can’t work on empty stomachs,” he said.
Syllabus coverage can be achieved during the given timeframe, the education secretary maintained. Mr Stalin concurred, saying teachers will hold after-school lessons at their discretion.
Students will be asked to wash hands and maintain social distancing where practical, said Prof Perera. Spraying of classrooms will also continue.
He agreed, however, that compliance with social distancing rules was severely limited in school premises. Overcrowded classrooms are particularly problematic. So, body temperature screening would be the main preventive measure against the new coronavirus.
Some schools have bought thermometers but there has been no official distribution of the instruments by the Education Ministry. The Director General of Health has told education authorities these are not essential. Spending large sums of public money on something that was not deemed essential would be irresponsible, Prof Perera said.