Mangaluru: Schools across Dakshina Kannada district will have to conduct additional teaching sessions to compensate for instructional days lost due to holidays declared during heavy rains this year.
The Office of the Deputy Director of School Education has issued an official order and a correction memorandum directing schools to make up for the teaching time lost following rain-related holidays announced by the District Disaster Management Authority.
The directive applies to primary and high schools under the jurisdiction of the district education authorities. School heads have been asked to assess the number of teaching days lost at their respective institutions and prepare a schedule to complete the prescribed syllabus without affecting students’ academic requirements.
Taluk-wise rain holidays
According to the education department’s order, the number of holidays declared varied across Dakshina Kannada’s taluks depending on the severity of the weather conditions.
Schools in Mangaluru North, Mangaluru South, Bantwal and Moodbidri were given a total of eight full days and one half-day holiday due to the rains.
In Belthangady, Puttur and Sullia, schools were given nine full days of holiday.
The rain holidays were declared as a precautionary measure during periods of heavy rainfall and adverse weather conditions in the district. While the closures were intended to ensure the safety of students and staff, they also resulted in a reduction in the number of scheduled instructional days.
The latest order has therefore been issued to ensure that the lost teaching periods are recovered during the academic year.
Extra classes from September
As part of the measures to compensate for the lost instructional time, schools have been directed to begin additional teaching sessions from the second Saturday of September 2026.
One of the key provisions is the conduct of full-day classes on Saturdays, with schools permitted to use the afternoon session for additional teaching.
The education department has also suggested conducting an additional teaching session during the evening on other working days. Such sessions are to be organised in a manner that does not cause undue inconvenience to students.
The objective is to ensure that the syllabus is completed within the stipulated academic schedule despite the disruption caused by the rain holidays.
Schools have been asked to plan the additional sessions according to their individual requirements rather than adopting a uniform schedule irrespective of the number of days lost.
Schools to calculate lost teaching days
The department has placed responsibility on individual schools to determine the exact number of teaching days that need to be compensated.
The head teacher, teaching staff and School Development and Monitoring Committee (SDMC) representatives of each school have been advised to hold a meeting and assess the teaching time lost because of the rain holidays.
After calculating the loss, the school authorities should incorporate the additional sessions into the timetable and prepare a plan to make up the missed teaching periods.
The education department has stressed that the exercise should be carried out in accordance with existing educational guidelines and should take into account the academic requirements of students.
The arrangement is also expected to help schools avoid a last-minute rush to complete portions of the syllabus towards the end of the academic year.
Saturday sessions among key measures
The proposal to utilise Saturdays for additional teaching is one of the principal measures included in the directive.
Schools will be able to conduct full-day classes on Saturdays, including afternoon teaching sessions, from the specified period in September.
In addition, schools may conduct evening sessions on other working days to recover teaching time. The department has directed that such arrangements should be made carefully so that students are not subjected to unnecessary academic pressure.
The additional classes are primarily intended to compensate for the teaching periods lost during the rain-related closures.
Education officials told to ensure compliance
The Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI) has directed all field-level education officers in Dakshina Kannada district to ensure strict implementation of the order.
The directive covers primary and high schools falling under their respective jurisdictions.
Field education officers are expected to monitor whether schools have calculated their lost instructional days and incorporated appropriate compensatory teaching sessions into their timetables.
The correction memorandum issued by the department also provides clarity on the implementation of the arrangements following the rain holidays.
Balancing safety and academic requirements
Dakshina Kannada regularly experiences intense monsoon conditions, and school closures may become necessary when heavy rainfall creates safety risks for students travelling to and from educational institutions.
At the same time, extended closures can affect the number of instructional hours available to schools. The latest directive seeks to address this issue by allowing schools to recover the lost teaching time through additional sessions.
The school-level planning process is expected to ensure that the number of extra classes corresponds to the actual teaching time lost in each institution.
School managements have therefore been advised to work with teachers and SDMC representatives while preparing the revised timetable.
The education department’s decision is aimed at maintaining academic continuity while ensuring that the rain-related disruption does not adversely affect syllabus completion.
With additional teaching sessions scheduled to begin from the second Saturday of September, schools across the affected taluks will now have to revise their timetables and plan the compensatory classes accordingly.
