Himachal slashes syllabus for classes 9 to 12 by 30%

Annual exams for all schools will be held in March next year.

The state education department on Wednesday decided to reduce the syllabus for classes 9 to 12 by 30%.

“The decision has been taken on the recommendation of experts committee and in consultation with the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education chairman,” said education minister Govind Singh Thakur on the sidelines of a meeting with department officials.

During the term and annual exams, questions will be asked from reduced syllabus, but the teachers will have to teach the full syllabus.

The minister said the decision to cut the syllabus has been taken in view of the Covid-19 outbreak due to which schools in the state were closed for over five months. “A notification to this effect will be issued soon,” he said.

“In the Covid-19 times, the department tried to continue education through TV and online mediums. However, students have been facing many problems like lack of connectivity and some even don’t have smart phones. So, the syllabus has been reduced on the lines of CBSE,” said Thakur.

WINTER VACATION CANCELLED

He said the government has also decided to cancel the school winter vacation. There will be no holidays on second Saturdays and even the gazette holidays will be reduced,” he said.

This will help compensate for 55 to 60 academic days lost due to Covid pandemic, said Thakur.

Annual exams for all schools will be held in March next year, while the practical examination will take place in the month of April.

TEACHERS’ DAY EVENT POSTPONED

The education minister informed that the Teachers’ Day programme slated for September 15 has been postponed due to national mourning on the death of former President Pranab Mukherjee.

The event will now be held on October 5 on the occasion of World Teachers’ Day.

Education secretary Rajiv Sharma, Himachal Pradesh School Education Board chairman Suresh Kumar Soni, board secretary Akshay Sood and elementary education director Shubh Karan Singh were present in the meeting.

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