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The School Education Department of Tamil Nadu has released a Government Order (G.O.) to organize the reading of non-academic books by students in Classes 1 to 8 in all government schools.

It also seeks to improve effective use of school libraries, with a structured plan spread across the whole academic year.

According to the new directive, students will be given books covering a range of themes, such as sports, animals, environment, science, the role of education, and the applications of the Internet, among others.

The reading time has been designed to suit each grade's reading capacity, so as to be within the reach and interest of the students at the primary and upper primary levels.

Apart from reading, the G.O. also provides a detailed plan of activities like story-telling sessions, speeches, and group discussions to enhance student interest in the subject matter.

The sessions are expected to promote language skills, critical awareness, and innovation.

The initiative is a part of a bigger plan announced by the School Education Minister for encouraging reading skills in government schools through theme-based reading weeks, reading competitions, and story-telling sessions.

To facilitate this, the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) shall prepare suitable reading material on each weekly theme.

The Integrated Education Department shall monitor implementation of the programme at the school level.

Officials in the Elementary Education Department said that this step follows the success of the 'Vasippu Iyakkam (Reading Movement)', which was expanded last year to all government schools in Tamil Nadu.

As a part of that program, more than 120 Tamil books specially selected for various reading levels were given to each classroom.

The new directive also streamlines the 'Vasippu Iyakkam' initiative by providing a lucid and organized reading schedule, which can be accessed easily by the teachers and put into effective practice.

The Directorate of Elementary Education has worked painstakingly to design the academic calendar, tying it to developmental reading standards of students in Classes 1 to 8.

It is the hope of education authorities that the move will foster a culture of reading among young students, facilitate wholesome learning, and ensure optimal utilization of the vast library facilities that already exist in government schools.

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has come to the defence of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)'s decision to hold Class 10 board exams twice every year from 2026, asserting that it would neither dilute the process nor cut down stress. He asserted that the school education system is capable enough nationwide to manage the two exams.

India has more than 60 school boards, and there has never been any question about their capabilities. The structure of the examinations is not loading the education system. The plan to hold board exams twice a year is not to weaken the process, but to minimize stress among students," Pradhan stated at ABP News education conclave on Monday.

Pradhan explained that the National Testing Agency administers the Joint Entrance Examination twice a year and enables students to select their highest score. "Based on this concept, we are implementing a similar scheme for Class 10 board examinations. .students will be able to appear for the board exam twice a year and keep their best score.". This step is suggested by experts.it is directed at offering flexibility and less exam-induced stress. Our education system in schools is capable enough to implement this change throughout the nation."

A CBSE draft policy in February suggested Class 10 board exams twice in an academic year from 2026, aligning with National Education Policy 2020 suggestions. It was released on February 25, and the last date for submission of feedback was March 9.

The policy announced CBSE Class 10 board exam 2026 for 26,60,000 students in 84 subjects will be conducted in two phases within 34 days. The 18-day first phase will be from February 17 to March 6 and the 16-day second phase from May 5 to May 20.

The Department of State Educational Research and Training (DSERT) of Karnataka is incorporating traffic lessons into the state board's school syllabus. The step is taken to create awareness on traffic rules and personal security among children.

Textbooks of Class 2, Class 4, Class 6, Class 7, and Class 9 now include content related to road safety, a report by The New Indian Express says.

DSERT said that as books for the 2025-26 academic year are already printed and in distribution mode, the traffic curriculum being made available by Bangalore Traffic Police shall be included when the textbooks are prepared or revised.

Though numerous government schools are struggling to find light due to lack of maintenance, an alumni association of one Kodagu government school is making efforts to restore the school. Funds of up to Rs 10 lakh were collected in a bid to support the restoration and rejuvenation of the school.

The Suntikoppa Government Primary School, which was initiated 108 years back, has educated lakhs of students. There was a high school section that was introduced in the institution 44 years ago. Although, lack of fund for developmental activities has been an obstacle forever, thus the institution never even had a centenary celebration. Nonetheless, the institution's alumni became active recently and are now set to revive the institution.

A few days back, some alumni had organized a reunion and there was a Guru Vandhana programme, with the retired teaching staff participation.

Alumni Association was launched and an announcement was made regarding the renovation of the school building that is in a bad condition. Renovation started after the alumni association raised money to the extent of Rs 10 lakh, as was reported in The New Indian Express.

The government of Jharkhand will rationalize the posting of teachers in high schools taking into account the difference in teaching staff in the urban and rural pockets, officials informed. Those schools that have a more teacher-student ratio will be deprived of some of the teachers, who will be relocated to schools in the rural pockets with fewer ratio.

School education department secretary Umashankar Singh has already directed the deputy commissioners in all the districts to this effect. "The move was taken keeping in view the fact that in several districts the number of teachers was more than the needed," an official informed.

As per the sources in the education department, while conducting review meeting of Jharkhand Autonomous Council (JAC) results of Class 10 Board exams, massive disparity was discovered in the numbers of teachers and students in rural and urban regions.

"There are a lot of schools where twice or thrice number of teachers are appointed for one child. In order to eliminate this anomaly, rationalisation of teachers must be done," the official added. "Apart from that, admission in some schools with NIL number of students appearing for board exams will be enhanced so that the student strength is enhanced there," he added.

777 schools have produced 100 per cent result this year. Out of the total 777 schools, 261 had produced 100 per cent result in 2024. This year all students in 51 schools passed with first division.

21 out of 51 schools are there where 100 per cent of the candidates who were studying in the year 2024 also passed with first division.

In 2024, 100 per cent of children in 47 schools passed with first division, out of which 21 schools maintained their performance in the present year, and the other 26 schools were unable to perform as well. Twenty-three schools each in Hazaribagh and East Singhbhum are at the top, which gave 100 per cent results.

Primary teachers in Himachal Pradesh called off their 43-day hunger strike on Saturday following the state government guarantee that their demands would be met.

A meeting was conducted here with Education Minister Rohit Thakur, and an agreement was arrived at on approximately 20-21 points, after which the teachers decided to call off the strike.

It was also decided that the directorate of elementary and higher education was to be the same.

Besides this, the government will also review the suspended teachers, Thakur added, stating that the teachers were made aware that their promotions would not suffer.

On March 28, the Himachal Pradesh cabinet cleared the promotion of the directorate of elementary education to the directorate of school education.

This new directorate would manage education from pre-nursery to Class 12, whereas the directorate of higher education would manage colleges and look into all the issues of higher education.

After making this decision, about 10 teachers were suspended for demonstrating, using derogatory language against the government and absenting themselves from school.

The Primary Teachers' Association of Himachal Pradesh's President Jagdish Sharma affirmed the strike was suspended following the meeting with Thakur. 

Sharma added that a committee will probably be formed to create a directorate of primary as well as higher education to be regulated by a single director.

He further added that there would be no alterations in other buildings without the committee's suggestion, and primary teachers will also be made members of this committee

While government schools are preparing to take back students, the education department is running against time—but many of the key upgrades under the Mana Ooru Mana Badi programme are not yet completed.

Of 1,156 government primary schools and government high schools in the area, 45 only have had the works completed as planned. While 407 of the schools were chosen for upgrade under 11 components—with infrastructure, sanitation, and digital learning equipment—the work remains pending or incomplete for 316 schools.

Worse still, 40 schools need over ₹60 lakh each to complete upgradation, but the money hasn't materialized. In spite of contractors raising the matter time and again, not much has shifted at the higher administrative level. Till now, the work completed has cost around ₹9 crore, but work has come to a halt, with concerns regarding students' readiness and safety.

Interestingly, ex Nizamabad urban MLA Bigala Gupta made a precedent by taking over and entirely up-gradation of two schools in Makloor mandal. Such instances are exceptional, and majority of schools wait for action to be taken.

In parallel, 760 schools were selected for minimal facility improvements—drinking water, electricity, and toilets—under the Amma Adarsha Patashala (AAP) programme rolled out last year by the Congress administration. Approximately 80% of AAP has been covered, with ₹21.97 crore having been expended out of the estimated ₹42.15 crore.

With schools reopening, incomplete classrooms, dysfunctional toilets, and missing luxuries may interrupt learning. The holdup on Mana Ooru projects is a sign of a larger problem of infrastructure under-prioritization, particularly in rural education.

If no sharp attention is provided, the very initiatives intended to improve school atmospheres may fail the students they were intended to support.