Palghar: Separate sets of holidays for Primary & Secondary Schools raise questions on coordination

Palghar: The holiday of Makar Sankranti was enjoyed by about 325 secondary schools a day ahead of the festival. This was an extra privilege taken by most of the secondary schools as the festival falls on Sunday.

In contrast to this, all the primary school students went to school in chilling 12 to 16 degrees Celsius temperatures. This discrepancy has exposed the mis-coordination between the primary and secondary sections of the education department in the Palghar district.

Confusion amongst students

The primary and secondary section education departments declare a holiday list every year at the beginning of the academic year. This year Makar Sankanti which usually is celebrated on Jan 14 fell on Jan 15. Out of approx 350 schools, 325 schools did not use their discretion to go by the almanack and took the list of holidays granted by the secondary department. 

This Makar Sankranti holiday which was celebrated by 325 plus secondary schools has deprived the students of one academic day this year. The primary school followed the almanack and used their discretion to skip planning errors which has benefited primary school students with one-day education. The education department which works under one roof of the Palghar District Administration is found following two different sets of holidays which has created confusion amongst the students.

FPJ spoke to Bhanudas Palwe, CEO of Zilla Parishad. He said the list of holidays was sent to District Education Officer (Secondary) by the office of the Deputy Director, Directorate of Higher Education in Aug 2022. The secondary department seems to have followed this list of holidays.

District Education Officer (Secondary) Ms Sangeeta Bhagwat was unavailable for comments on medical grounds.