Schools in Bengal’s plains and hills follow different timings starting today

With an eye on the Covid-19 situation, schools in the plains will be held from 10.50am-4.30pm. In the hilly areas, including Darjeeling and Kalimpong, classes will be held from 9.30am-3pm

With an eye on the Covid-19 situation, schools in the plains and hilly areas of West Bengal will follow different timings starting Monday, while physical classes will be held on alternate days.

A file photo of students attending a class at Maharishi Vidya Mandir School in Kolkata. Schools in Bengal’s plains and hills are following different timings starting Monday. (ANI/File)

Schools in the plains, including in cities such as Kolkata, will be held from 10.50am to 4.30pm. In the hilly areas, including Darjeeling and Kalimpong, classes will be held from 9.30am to 3pm.

Also, classes 10 and 12 will be held three days a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while classes 9 and 11 will be held twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

An education department official said, “There will be no academic classes on Saturdays. Schools have been instructed to organise feedback sessions, generate awareness and hold orientation camps for guardians every Saturday. A senior education officer from the education department will attend the feedback sessions to take stock of the evolving situation.”

Schools in West Bengal reopened after 20 months on November 16. They were shut in March 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

Schools reopened last February with classes 9 to 12, but had to be shut again due to the assembly elections and the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Last week, schools began to be held following staggered timings. While students of classes 9 and 11 were asked to attend classes from 10am to 3.30pm, classes 10 and 12 were held from 11am to 4.30pm.