MUMBAI: Expats families in the Gulf looking to travel for their annual vacation to Mumbai or other places in Maharashtra have some good news! Their vacation plans might just line up with CBSE board school holidays in the UAE.
Starting from April 1, 2025, Maharashtra state board schools will kick off their academic year earlier than before, changing from the usual June 15 start. This change is all thanks to a decision made by the steering committee to sync up with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schedule, which begins in April and ends in March.
The newly approved State Curriculum Framework for School Education (SCF-SE) aims to align Maharashtra’s schools with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the CBSE curriculum, including its schedule. This means state board schools will also adopt the NCERT curriculum.
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However, not everyone is thrilled about this shift. Some critics argue that starting school in April isn’t great, especially since many regions in Maharashtra can get pretty hot during that time. Nitin Dalvi from the Maharashtra State Student-Parent Teacher Federation (MSSPTF) voiced concerns, saying, “Students shouldn’t have to brave extreme heat. If they get sick, who’s responsible?” He mentioned that he’s been getting calls from worried parents.
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To address these worries, officials from the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) reassured everyone that the new start date won’t be enforced right away. “We’re flexible about when schools can adopt this change. It won’t be an overnight decision. Plus, this new framework applies only to classes 3-12, and will roll out for classes 1 and 2 later,” said a senior SCERT official. They added, “There’s no need to worry!”
(This article is published under a mutual content partnership arrangement between The Brew News and The Free Press Journal)
