School holidays in Telangana have become a topic of debate, with concerns raised about whether they are student-centric or school-centric. This issue has come to light due to the short-term holidays announced by the Telangana School Education Department (TSED) and the reasons behind them.
For instance, the Academic Calendar for 2024-25 includes a 13-day Dasara vacation from October 2 to 14, a five-day Christmas vacation from December 23 to 27 (exclusive to Christian Missionary Schools), and a five-day Sankranti vacation from January 13 to 17, 2025. This has led to questions about why only students in Christian Missionary Schools get Christmas holidays and why students in other schools do not.
In contrast, the State School Education Department of Kerala does not have such discriminatory holiday policies. For example, schools in Kerala are closed for Onam and Christmas vacations for all students, regardless of their religious background. This inclusive approach is followed by many states across the country.
A former official from the State Education Department explained that minority institutions, including Christian Minority Institutions, must adhere to certain criteria to maintain their status. If they fail to meet these criteria, they may lose their minority institution tag. This raises questions about how many minority institutions in Telangana are actually meeting the required criteria.
Given the example of Kerala where all students celebrate cultural festivals like Onam, it is puzzling why Telangana is granting exclusive holidays to students in Christian Missionary Schools for festivals like Sankranti. This has sparked a debate about the rationale behind such decisions made by the TSED and the state government.
