Kerala's Minister for General Education and Labour, VK Sivankutty, has clarified the confusion surrounding the working days for schools on Saturdays. Contrary to misconceptions, the Minister has stated that only 13 out of the total 52 Saturdays will be considered as working days, while the rest will remain non-working days. This clarification was provided in a press release issued by the Minister's office on June 7, 2023.
The press statement, issued following a meeting chaired by the Minister with teachers' organizations associated with the Quality Improvement Programme, emphasiaed that there will be no changes to the summer vacation days. The academic calendar for the year 2023-24 has been designed to have 205 academic days, as stated in the press release. This adjustment was made based on the request put forth by the teachers' organisations.
"The propaganda that all Saturdays are working days is not right. Of the total 52 Saturdays of the academic year, only 13 Saturdays will be working days. Saturdays have been chosen as working to have five working days a week as per the existing laws and court orders to have five working days," the press release read.
Earlier, a controversy arose when the government initially decided to make 28 Saturdays working days in order to achieve a total of 220 working days in the academic year. Minister Sivankutty stood firm on the decision, stating that proper discussions had taken place and that both students and parents were satisfied with the arrangement.
"There were 198 academic days for the year 2022-23 as per the academic calendar, which became 202 by adding four Saturdays. In 2023-24 academic year, the total number of academic days will be 205 with 192 weekdays and 13 Saturdays," the press release further read.