Schools to reopen on Monday

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The schools will reopen on June 4 after the summer holidays. The state-level admission festival will be inaugurated at Ernakulam Girls Higher Secondary School.To the 12,644 schools in the state under the government, aided and unaided sectors, around 3,30,000 students are expected as new-comers, said Education Minister P K Abdu Rabb at a press meet here on Thursday.The new academic year has been announced as ‘PTA strengthening’ year. Dharma Sena, to undertake moral enhancing and academic enriching activities in schools, will be formed. The unit will have 10 parents each who would be given counselling and training. When asked if they would turn moral police in future, the Minister said that guidelines had been approved for the working of the Dharma Sena. The guidelines have been included in the handbook to  be distributed to parents. The handbook ‘Padikkuka, Parirakshikkuka’ would be distributed in 5,000 centres on the reopening day.Action would be taken against schools or managements found receiving donations for admissions. The UID project would be kicked off in schools in June and it will be completed within four months.Since the head count verification on the sixth day has already been done away with, a mere counting will be exercised in schools on June 14. However, this will not be done to decide the teacher-student ratio. Only after the UID gets completed, the teacher-student ratio, prescribed by RTE (Right to Education), will be implemented.The textbooks will reach the schools before the reopening. The uniforms will be given to BPL-APL girls and BPL boys in the government schools.Though aided schools and APL boys were also considered for free uniforms, SSA would give money for the first proposal only and the government is not in a position to take up additional financial commitments, the Minister said.