Kerala extends school hours, adds Saturdays to academic calendar

Students in Classes 8 to 10 in Kerala will now spend an extra 30 minutes at school each day, with 15 minutes added in the morning and another 15 minutes in the afternoon, on all working days except Fridays, according to Education Minister V Sivankutty.

The new schedule also designates six Saturdays as class days, raising the total number of working days for high schools to 204.

The revised academic calendar follows an August 2024 Kerala High Court judgment that invalidated the earlier version, which had included 25 working Saturdays, due to procedural lapses.

In response, the state government formed an expert panel that recommended limiting working Saturdays to one per month, only when necessary.

While the minister defended the changes as both legally sound and aligned with national and state education norms, the revised timetable has met opposition, particularly from Muslim organizations such as the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama.

These groups have voiced concerns that longer school hours may disrupt religious education and community obligations.

Sivankutty emphasized that the updated schedule mirrors practices in other states. “Several states, including Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, already operate on more extended school calendars,” he said.

He also pointed out that CBSE and ICSE schools within Kerala already have longer hours than government-run schools.

He accused opposition-aligned teacher unions of politicizing the issue and recalled that similar changes were introduced under the previous United Democratic Front (UDF) government without significant protest.

“No one protested then, so we must ask what’s really behind the resistance now,” Sivankutty said.

Reaffirming the government’s openness to consultation, he added, “If there are genuine concerns, we are willing to sit down and discuss them. Any change in education laws must go through the Legislative Assembly, not through court interventions or public outcry.”

The updated academic year includes 198 working days for Classes 1 to 4, 200 for Classes 5 to 7, and 204 for Classes 8 to 10.

Beyond classroom instruction, the calendar integrates awareness campaigns, cultural events, scholarships, and support programs for differently-abled students to foster inclusive and holistic education.

Despite the pushback, the state government maintains that the changes are essential for ensuring both instructional quality and compliance with legal directives.