The Jharkhand government will soon issue a notification for extending the academic session in state-run schools to mitigate the learning loss caused by the closure of educational institutions because of the Covid-19 pandemic, officials have said.

“The decision is almost final after going through several surveys which pointed to loss of studies due to the Covid-induced lockdown and closure of offline classes for over one-and-a-half years. The extended academic session will be applicable till the year 2024,” said a senior official in the state education and literacy department.

After a formal notification is issued later this month, Jharkhand will become the first state in the country to notify the extension of academic session, the official said.

The idea has been proposed to continue this arrangement for the next two sessions.

According to sources in the education and literacy department, the academic session for the year 2021-22 will not end on the stipulated March 31 but will continue till June 30. According to the new system, the academic session will be extended for three months.

Subsequently, the session for the year 2022-23 will be extended till May 31 and for the year 2023-24 till April 30. After this, the session from the year 2024-25 will end on the predetermined date of March 31.

Since schools have been closed for months due to Covid-19, classes are being held online. Students across the country have reported learning loss.

A survey by the Azim Premji Foundation has found that 92 per cent of the children have lost at least one language ability, while 82 per cent have lost mathematical skills.

A recent survey report titled “Locked Out: Emergency Report on School Education”, of nearly 1,362 schoolchildren (Classes I to VIII) in underprivileged households (where parents usually send their children to government schools) suggests that only

28 per cent of students in rural areas and 47 per cent in urban areas were studying regularly.

The Jharkhand government is also planning to reopen schools for Classes I to V.

State finance minister Rameshwar Oraon said that the government is taking a serious look into the issue.

“Chief minister Hemant Soren is very sensitive about the matter of loss of learning due to Covid. We had opened the schools for Classes VI to VII in September this year. We are monitoring the situation. After the festivities are over and after evaluating the pandemic situation, we will take a decision on reopening classes between I and V too,” said Oraon.

Education and literacy department secretary Rajesh Kumar Sharma said that deliberations have been held on the extension of academic session.

“We have deliberated on it. However, no final decision has been taken so far. We have also sent the proposal on reopening primary schools between Classes I and V to the state disaster management

department after the festivities. Only after we get the nod of the disaster management department will we issue a notification for opening of primary schools,” said Sharma.