In Maharashtra, the school timings of pre-primary and primary sections will be changed from the academic year 2024-25, months after it was proposed by the Governor.
To ensure that kids get adequate sleep, the government has made it mandatory for government-run and private schools to begin classes after 9 am. This decision was taken due to the changed lifestyle of the children of today's generation.
The state education department made this announcement on February 8.
However, this suggested schedule modification does not allow for a reduction in the number of teaching hours.
The proposal was initially made by Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais in December 2023. He said that kids aren't getting enough sleep since they stay up late at night. After this, the School Education Minister, Deepak Kesarkar, consulted parents and education professionals and changed the school timings for lower classes.
According to the government, not only changes in lifestyle but also modes of entertainment and noise pollution in urban areas force them to wake up early in the morning.
In a government resolution (GR) released, the authorities have mentioned that inadequate sleep takes a toll on the physical and mental health of the students.
If children don’t get enough sleep during the night hours, children are lethargic throughout the day. They lack the necessary enthusiasm and energy required for studying, which results in poor learning. The GR also states that children are more likely to contract diseases because of cold or rainy weather in the morning.
The administration has defended the move by saying that parents are equally inconvenienced by having to get their kids ready for school at an early hour. While many parents and medical professionals support the plan, some experts think that the focus should be on weaning children away from mobile and other devices, which are the reasons behind interrupted sleep cycles, rather than opening schools later. They make the argument that changing the school's start hour could offer children "permission" to put off going to bed even later.
The change in school time will encourage kids to sleep late, which is not very healthy. Since most schools in the state are expected to end the school day by noon at the height of summer, a complete ban on early morning sessions is not possible. Instead, the academic day must start at 7 am every day, experts stated.
There are a few more logistical challenges in putting this plan into practice in the city, where most schools operate in numerous shifts because of a lack of space. While a majority of the city's schools already have afternoon classes for pre-primary and primary sections, some—particularly those with large enrollments—also provide morning shifts for younger students. Altering this schedule could affect learning objectives and hours.
Adapting transport infrastructure to the revised timetable could also prove to be an enormous undertaking since schools begin at nine in the morning, which means navigating rush hour traffic. Rearranging facilities and transit schedules for a large number of kids will be part of the process.
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