Goa education secretary says academicians mooted April start for schools, not politicians, babus

Panaji: As state govt has announced that the new academic year 2025-26 will begin from April 1 instead of June first week, Goa education secretary Prasad Lolayekar has said that the decision is a well-deliberated and well-thought-out policy based on the recommendations of a committee of academicians.

He said the decision was not abrupt and not based on calls taken by bureaucrats or politicians.

“The decision was taken by an academic committee, by taking everything into consideration. We had very detailed discussions and took the decision and it was approved by govt,” Lolayekar said.

He said it is a wrong belief that April is a month of vacation.

“Many schools are utilising the month for academic activities. We will now be utilising the month in all schools. If we do not use April, we will have to curtail Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, or Christmas breaks, which we did not want to do,” Lolayekar said. “At present, the second term does not get utilised properly as sports, gatherings, picnics etc are held in this month. With April taken in for learning-teaching, it will balance both terms well for teaching-learning activities.”

He said some argue that the weather is not conducive in April due to the summer heat, while there are others who believe June and July are not conducive for schools to operate due to the heavy monsoon in Goa.

“We will be holding a meeting with the headmasters’ association where everything will be discussed in detail,” he said.

He said though the circular on starting the academic year from April 1 came in Jan, stakeholders had already been informed of the decision well in advance.