New Kerala School Calendar: Kerala General Education Minister V. Sivankutty on Sunday explained the recently announced academic calendar for 2025–26 with long school hours and some working Saturdays. The reforms, he said, are aimed at meeting national and state-level educational needs, according to a news agency PTI report.
Under the amended timetable, students in classes 8 to 10 will go to school for an extra 15 minutes in the morning and evening on every working day, excluding Fridays, taking the total to 1,100 instructional hours a year. The calendar includes 204 working days, with six Saturdays converted into full class days for high school students.
The decision has been criticized by some Muslim organizations, including Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, which contends that the longer working hours may obstruct religious studies. Sivankutty responded to the concerns, saying the changes were implemented as per a Kerala High Court order in August 2024 declaring the previous calendar invalid for failing to get proper government sanction.
As a reaction, the state created a panel of experts that recommended working Saturdays be restricted to only one month, where required. The final draft requires seven working Saturdays to accomplish mandated instructional objectives with the added provision of legal compliance.
Sivankutty also attributed that the other states like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh have more working days than Kerala. He mentioned that Kerala's CBSE and ICSE schools already have more intensive school calendars.
He raised doubts about the intentions of the ongoing protests, remembering that changes under an earlier Congress-ruled UDF government attracted no opposition.
Sivankutty confirmed the government's willingness to talk but emphasized that any changes in legislation have to be done through the Assembly, not in court or street pressure.
The revised calendar features such initiatives as anti-drug campaigns, arts and sports festivals, inclusive education activities, and scholarship programs. 198 days are allocated for Classes 1–4, 200 days for Classes 5–7, and the 204-day system for Classes 8–10.
