The state higher secondary council has asked government and government-aided schools to hold online classes during the Puja vacation as the syllabus for the first semester could not be completed in many schools because of the late arrival of textbooks.

A council official said the state government has provided funds to all students at the plus-II level to buy tabs and they are expected to attend online classes.

The school education department has given Rs 10,000 to each student in Classes XI and XII in government and aided schools to buy tabs.

The classes for thefirst semester ended inearly September and those for the second started after the completion of the first semester exams.

Council president Chiranjeeb Bhattacharya said the questions in the first semester exams were based on the part of the curriculum that was taught. He admitted that the late arrival of Bengali, English and Hindi language textbooks was one of the reasons why the entire curriculum could not be covered in class.

Government and aided schools will remain closed till October 30 for the Puja vacation, which started on October 7.

A notification issued by the school education department on October 4 says the second semester classes may be held online from October 21 to 30 “on the basis of mutual understanding between the teachers and students”.

“The heads of the institutions are requested to take the necessary measures accordingly,” says the notice signed by Bhattacharya.

The president said another reason for holding online classes during the Puja vacation is to meet the target of minimum contact hours (the hours of classroom teaching) under the semesterised plus-II system.

The council had announced in March that the first and third semesters of the new plus-II course will require at least 100 hours of classroom teaching. The requirement for the second and fourth semesters is 80 hours.

The council has split the plus-II course into four semesters — semesters I and II for Class XI and semesters III and IV for Class XII.

“Many schools could not complete the syllabus for the first semester because of the late arrival of textbooks. Many schools also took time to adjust to the segmented format and the syllabus could not be completed. So, the schools have been asked to take online classes (during the vacation) to make up for the loss,” said council president Bhattacharya.

The council distributes Bengali, English and Hindi language textbooks from the schools for free. The students are required to buy books on other subjects.

“A delayed start of classes because of the extended summer vacation, coupled with the late arrival of books, came in the way of completing the syllabus in the first semester. Online classes during the Puja vacation can compensate for that. However, many teachers and students plan trips during the Puja recess. They may not be able to attend the classes,” said Chandan Maity, headmaster of Krishnachandrapur High School in Mathurapur, South 24-Parganas.