After much speculations, the J&K administration on Friday issued a formal order to implement the Uniform Academic Calendar across the schools in Kashmir Valley.
According to an official order, the exams of Classes 1-9 will be conducted in March now. An order issued by the Principal Secretary, School Education Department said:
“Sanction is accorded to the implementation of Uniform Academic Calendar including conduct of annual examinations in March-April session for classes upto 9" standard in all the Government and Government recognized Private Schools of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.”
It also said that new admissions shall commence from the month of March of the calendar year.
A top J&K administration official had said on Thursday that the annual school examinations could be held in March rather than in October-November.
Director School Education Kashmir, Tasaduq Hussain Mir, had said that the department has prepared a proposal to shift the annual examinations and submitted it to the government.
The administration of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has already announced in August this year that the class 10 and 12 board examinations conducted by the Board of School Education (JKBOSE) in Kashmir will be conducted along with the Jammu division in March instead of October-November in the past.
The dates were shifted by the admin for a synchronised academic calendar with the rest of the country in according with National Education Policy. Mir said that the administration is likely to make announcement in this regard very soon.
“In all probably, we will conduct annual exams in all schools across the UT in March,” Mir had said on the sidelines of a function in Srinagar.
The annual school examinations in Kashmir Valley are conducted in October-November which is followed by winter vacations during which the students go to tuitions and start the new class from the tuition centre.
However, the exams in Jammu are held in March, just before the start of the hot and dry summers. The administration in Kashmir is hoping to keep the schools open till the end of December in Kashmir valley if the weather remains favourable.
Mir said that the schools will remain as long as the weather permits and the announcement of winter vacation will be made in accordance with weather conditions. “If weather conditions permit and temperatures don’t go below zero, we will keep the school open till December end,” he said.
The administration is presently stressing on meeting the needs of students who are suffering from huge learning gaps due to the two years of Covid which led to closure of all schools.
“There are a lot of learning gaps for which the school education department is holding remedial classes. We have made a plan and 80% of gaps have been filled while 20% are being filled up. We are doing our best and cluster level monitoring is also going on,” he said.