Tamil Nadu Schools Students to Enjoy Extended Vacation, Classes Set to Resume on October 7

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu School Education Department has announced an extension of the quarterly vacation for all government, government-aided, and private schools in the state until October 6. This decision comes in response to requests from teacher organisations, which highlighted the need for additional time to complete the evaluation of quarterly examination papers.

Schools are now scheduled to reopen on October 7 (Monday), allowing students extra time to prepare and recharge before returning to their academic routines. The quarterly examinations, which are a major part of the academic calendar for students in grades 6 to 12, began on September 20. For grades 11 and 12, exams started on September 19 and will conclude on September 27, while grades 6 to 10 will have their examinations from September 20 to 27.

The newly extended holiday period from September 28 to October 6 aims to give students ample opportunity to rest and focus on their studies. The department emphasised that this extension applies to all primary, middle, high, and higher secondary schools under its jurisdiction. This supportive measure is expected to help students manage their academic workload more effectively and perform better in their exams.

The previous reopening date was set for October 3, after schools closed on September 27 for the quarterly exams. The School Education Department had initially declared a five-day break from September 27 to October 2. Teacher organizations had requested a nine-day break, citing the need for adequate time to complete the valuation and tabulation of results.

In Tamil Nadu, there are approximately 37,211 government schools and 8,403 government-aided schools, educating around 54.71 lakh and 28.44 lakh students, respectively. The state has 12,631 private schools, which serve about 56.9 lakh students. Private institutions may be affiliated with various boards, including the Tamil Nadu Board of Secondary Education, Central Board of Secondary Education ( CBSE ), Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (ICSE), or National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS).

The Tamil Nadu State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) serves as the nodal body for ensuring the quality of school education in the state, providing crucial inputs on curriculum and textbooks to the Directorate of School Education.

Parents and students are encouraged to take note of the new reopening date and utilise the extended break for thorough preparation for the upcoming academic activities.