Timings of schools changed, private schools don’t follow suit

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 20

In view of a continuing heatwave in the northern region, the Education Department has introduced a new time schedule of government schools from today.

However, most of the private schools have not followed suit. As per the new time schedule, primary, middle, high and senior secondary schools are to open at 7:30 am. However, there is irregularity in the opening time of private schools, as they are following their previous time schedule.

A parent said, on condition of anonymity, his two children studied in a private school in the Civil Lines area. “I make it a point to drop them and pick them up from the school on my own. As per the latest directions of the government, I reach the school early, ensuring that my wards are at the school before time as per the changed time schedule”. However, after reaching there, I found the campus deserted and upon inquiry from an attendant, it became clear that the time schedule was not changed at all.

After crosschecking with students and parents of schools affiliated with the CBSE and the ICSE, it was found that most of them were yet to respond to the new time schedule.

In order to give respite to the students from sweltering heat, the government fixed the time schedule from 7:30 am to 12:30 pm. 

A retired government school principal, Kulwant Singh, said as there were different boards, so were there different schedules and rules. He said largely uniformity had been realised in text books and reading material of the PSEB and the NCERT was same now. 

He said new dynamic changes are taking place in classroom teaching. He hoped that different managements of private schools would realise that it was better to follow the schedule, transport rules and other norms set up by the government.