Delhi schools reopen as cold wave offers respite
By IANSMonday, January 17, 2011
NEW DELHI - Schools in Delhi reopened Monday after the biting cold of earlier weeks abated somewhat, putting an end to the extended winter vacation.
The schools run by the Delhi government, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and private managements reopened after the government extended their closure till Jan 13 due to the intense cold wave. The schools were scheduled to re-open Jan 3 after the usual winter break for Christmas and New Year.
The minimum temperature recorded in Delhi Monday was 7.5 degrees Celsius, two notches below the average.
“Although the schools are reopened, the officials of the education department are concerned on how to complete the syllabus as exams will begin in March,” an official from the city government’s education department told IANS.
Running short on time, schools are planning extra classes for higher secondary classes, which are expected to eat into the much-cherished weekends.
R.P. Mallik, chairman of the Federation of Public Schools, an umbrella organisation of 200 privately run schools in the capital, said: “We are going to take extra classes on Saturdays in January and February since we have to cover half the syllabus.”
“We are following the government order but I am worried. To compensate for the loss of working days, we will function on all Saturdays for two months,” said Reena Sharma, a Class 10 teacher in a government school.
Parents were also a worried lot.
“We dont know if their syllabus will be completed properly or rushed through before the exams, said Ram Sen, the father of a Class 10 student.
For the last couple of years, both private and government schools in the capital have been extending their winter vacation on the orders of the education department to protect children from exposure to extreme cold.
Many private schools also acknowledge the need for a longer winter break.
There is no point in making changes at the last moment as it throws the academic schedule out of gear. So, the education department should soon incorporate necessary changes at the beginning of the academic year itself, said Usha Ram, principal of the Laxman Public School in south Delhi.
