ENSURE MANDATORY 220 WORKING DAYS, DELHI GOVT DIRECTS SCHOOLS
The directions were issued to heads of all state-run and private schools
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has directed all schools in the national capital to maintain a minimum of 220 working days in an academic year for upper primary classes. The directions were issued to heads of all state-run and private schools here by the government.
"All the head of schools are directed to adhere to the provision laid down in the Right to Education Act (RTE) in respect of mandatory 220 working days in an academic year for upper primary classes," the Directorate of Education said in a communication to school principals.
"It is the responsibility of the respective school managements to ensure that the schools under their control must observe the minimum working days and holidays in the academic calendar are approved beforehand," it added.
The school heads have also been asked to furnish an undertaking to the education department that the directive will be complied with. Delhi's school
education reforms have been recognised across the country and the world as a benchmark for policymakers.
“The dramatic turnaround in the condition of Delhi's government schools has brought us closer to our goal of providing quality and accessible education to every child in Delhi,”
Manish Sisodia, Delhi Education Minister had said.
Sisodia has repeatedly claimed that in the last four years, the remarkable improvement in government schools has led to a narrowing of the acute class divide between children studying in private and government schools. “They have operated on the principle of “No Child Left Behind” with a focus on ensuring every single child's interests are looked after. Whether it is through large scale upgrade of building infrastructure and capacity expansion, or through advanced teacher training focused on improving learning outcomes, the government's interventions have been thoughtfully designed to create maximum impact,” he said.
Delhi government schemes like Chunauti 2018, strengthening of SMCS and the Mentor Teacher Program have attracted academic researchers from across the world. In fact, Harvard University is conducting a study assessing the impact of work on SMCS.
Despite all efforts being made by AAP government, the education department is suffering lack of teaching staff. There is the sanctioned strength of 66,736 teachers in Delhi government schools, however only 38,926, or 58.3 per cent, are filled at the moment. Of these, 21,926 are regular and 17,000 are guest teachers.