Jaipur: The state education department has begun preparations for the new academic session starting April 1, with distribution of textbooks to schools already underway, officials said Friday.With the session commencing earlier this year, the number of teaching days will increase to 214, compared to 200 days earlier. The summer vacation will be observed for a month from May 16 to June 20. Education minister Madan Dilawar, along with school education secretary Krishna Kunal, held a meeting with representatives of various teachers’ associations from across the state to discuss preparations for the upcoming session and key initiatives planned by the department. Officials said a mega parent-teacher meeting (PTM) will be organised on March 25 across the state, along with a parent–anganwadi meeting. The aim is to encourage enrolment of children from anganwadi centres into schools and ensure that existing students continue their education in the next class without dropping out. Addressing the meeting, Dilawar appealed to teachers and education staff to actively contribute to improving the state’s education system. He also urged schools to maintain cleanliness on campuses, discourage the use of single-use plastic and strictly prohibit the consumption of tobacco in any form within school premises. During the meeting, Kunal said that with the start of the new session, all students will receive free textbooks, while funds for free uniforms will be transferred directly to students’ bank accounts. “To ensure that more children are enrolled in school, this year a four-day intensive campaign will be launched under Praveshotsav, in which teachers and staff will visit every household and encourage eligible children to enroll,” Kunal said. The enrolment drive will be conducted in four phases starting March 27, followed by April 6, April 10 and April 15. Each phase will last four days, during which 25% of teaching staff from every school and administrative staff from education department offices will conduct door-to-door visits to identify children eligible for admission. Director of secondary and primary education Sitaram Jat said distribution of textbooks by the Rajasthan Textbook Board is being monitored through the Shala Darpan portal. He added that from the 2026–27 academic session, the school-level health check-up campaign will also be extended to students of private schools, beginning April 16.
