April-March Academic Year in Assam to make up for Lockdown Loss, Suggests Himanta Biswa Sarma

Guwahati:

Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that the state Government is in talks the to push the board's academic calendar to April-March. Sarma informed that a decision will be taken in this regard after receiving feedback from the parents and other stakeholders.

"We have been seeking the public's feedback in regards to starting the academic year from April 1 onwards. A portal was presented from the Board of Secondary Education (SEBA) seeking the public's advice -- whether they will support or oppose this move. Earlier, the academic session used to be held from January to December. Now, we want to conduct the session from April 1 to March 31, in tandem with the other states in the country. If this is to happen, we can make up for the losses during the lockdown", Sarma said, while addressing the media here in Guwahati city.

Sarma said that the final discussion pertaining to this issue will be taken up on May 30, further adding the decision will be taken based on the public's feedback. "The information", Sarma said, "will be conveyed in the first week of June."

The Minister also said that the free textbooks will be provided for the Higher Secondary students in their respective schools from the 27th of this month onwards. Sarma also said that the ambitious Diksha e-learning app of the Assam Government has found wide acceptance after a campaign was launched during the lockdown. "3.5 lakh students have already downloaded the Diksha app during the period of lockdown, and they have been benefited by it, Sarma told media. He also informed that the Biswa Vidya Assam YouTube channel that facilitates learning, has been subscribed to by a large number of people (it has 10,000+ subscribers at the time of filing this report).

It is worth mentioning here that earlier this month, the Assam government announced summer vacations for educational institutions till May 31 with effect from May 1, instead of July, in a bid to curb further academic loss of students because of Covid-19.