By Najiya O, TwoCircles.net
Schools in Kerala will be opened for the next academic year on June 6, after the Eid ul Fitr. The state education department made the announcement in a press release on May 29, after the Chief Minister reportedly asked the Education Minister to reopen schools after the Eid only. The same would be applied for higher education institutions also.
The state education department had announced earlier that schools would reopen after the summer vacations on June 3, Monday. The decision was widely criticized as Eid ul Fitr might fall on June 4 or 5 and it would be difficult for students, teachers and staff alike. Opposition political parties submitted a memorandum before the Chief Minister and the Education Minister on May 29 regarding the matter and requested to change the opening day to June 6. Muslim organisations and activists also criticized the decision. Finally, the decision to change the school reopening to June 6 was taken in the cabinet meeting held Wednesday.
The first announcement of reopening on June 3 was also read alongwith the Lok Sabha election results which showed that minorities had voted en masse to the UDF, with the LDF winning only one seat in the state. Journalist KK Shahina wrote on Facebook (https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10217390106602240&id=1161526131) that the minorities might have voted for the UDF this time but they have no permanent enmity towards the Left, but on the other hand the Left has no organic relation with the minorities which is evident in the decision to reopen schools on June 3. She adds that the UDF has that organic relationship with minorities so that there would always be some in the UDF ministry who can remind of Ramadan and Eid when taking such decisions.
The number of holidays for the two Eid celebrations also has always been an issue in Kerala, where Muslims constitute 29.56% of the state population according to the Census figures of 2011. The other two major festivals of Onam and Christmas are given 10 days each as holidays (Hindus constitute 51.73% and Christians 18.38%), but the two Eid celebrations usually get only one day holiday, and that too would be announced a week or a few days before or sometimes the day before only. As the holidays are not declared earlier itself in the academic calendar, universities and even the Public Service Commission would fix their exams or interviews etc for the dates. That may need to be changed once the date is announced as Eid holiday, and that too a few days before the date. And sometimes, the dates are not changed at all. This always creates difficulty for students and others alike. The matter remains an unresolved issue eventhough the LDF and the UDF have been in power in turns since the formation of the state. The Muslim League has been with the LDF earlier and then with the UDF, but it too could not come up with a solution to the problem. The issue of fixing the Eid holidays is also related to the last-minute announcement of the Eid dates, after sighting the crescent moon only. However, giving more than one day holiday on the probable dates could solve the issue.
However, at least some private and unaided schools that are plenty in Kerala fix their opening dates and holidays according to the convenience of the teachers and students too. Several schools under Muslim management reopen on June 10 only, and they will make up for the lost classes by working on Saturdays. Some also adjust the festival holidays by giving five days each for each festival, thus not exceeding the number of days but giving equal holidays for each festival.