Pune: Several students across Maharashtra will return to classrooms on Monday as govt, Zilla Parishad (ZP), municipal and aided schools reopen for the new academic year amid colourful welcome ceremonies, enrolment drives and special orientation programmes. From urban civic schools in Mumbai and Pune to remote tribal schools in Nandurbar and Gadchiroli, institutions have spent the past week decorating campuses, preparing classrooms and organising activities to make the first day memorable for children, especially first-time entrants.State govt has also intensified preparations for its annual school admission festival ‘Shala Praveshotsav’, with school education minister Dada Bhuse scheduled to attend a programme at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Residential School in the remote hill station of Toranmal in Nandurbar district on Monday.Even as schools geared up for the fresh academic year, teachers and principals were long awaiting clarity on the weekly teaching schedule under the revised curriculum. The uncertainty ended late on Friday night, when the school education department released the subject-wise timetable for Stds III, IV and VI.According to the schedule issued by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), the academic year will comprise 237 working days, of which 210 days will be devoted to classroom teaching; 14 days have been earmarked for examinations and assessment, while 13 days will be reserved for co-curricular activities. The calendar also includes 52 Sundays and 76 other holidays.For Marathi- and English-medium schools, Marathi will receive nine periods per week, language (regional) R-1 six periods and language R-2 will get 10 periods. Mathematics will have two periods, while environmental studies parts I and II, art education, physical education and work education will each receive four periods weekly.SCERT director Hemant Vasekar said schools are expected to complete 55 periods per week and approximately 1,252 hours of annual teaching. Apart from regular instruction, 42.71 annual hours have been allocated for the Area of Enrichment Programme or AEP (including art, environmental awareness, life skills, health and wellness, value education, library, etc.), homework and self-study activities, 37.5 hours for assessments and 68.25 hours for co-curricular programmes.“The release of the timetable has removed uncertainty before reopening. Teachers can now begin the academic year with a clear teaching plan aligned to the new curriculum,” said., Vaishali Supekar, headmistress of a ZP school in Nashik district.A teacher from a municipal school in Pune, Manisha Wakde, said preparations had been under way for several days. “We have decorated classrooms, prepared welcome kits and planned interactive activities for children. The timetable gives us a framework to organise teaching effectively from day one,” she said.Another primary school teacher from Bhor, Dnyanadev Horpale, said the focus this year would be on easing children into learning. “The first few days are important for building confidence and attendance. Parents are also enthusiastic, particularly for students entering school for the first time,” he said.The timetable will be mandatory for Stds III, IV and VI. Education commissioner Sachindra Pratap Singh said the same framework will continue for Stds V, VII and VIII once new textbooks are introduced. “While schools may alter the order of subjects and adjust school timings according to local requirements, they will not be permitted to reduce the prescribed weekly or annual teaching hours for any subject,” added Singh.The department has also directed all schools from Stds I to VIII to implement value-addition programmes. These initiatives will be compulsory even for schools already conducting separate value-enrichment activities, like kitchen gardening, some sports activities, music, etc.Meanwhile, teachers of Stds II, III, IV and VI will undergo training on the new curriculum between June 18 and July 10. The programme, organised by SCERT, has been scheduled around the ongoing census process and aims to support smooth implementation of revised learning frameworks across Maharashtra.With fresh uniforms, newly painted classrooms and thousands of welcome ceremonies planned across Maharashtra, schools are hoping to begin the academic year on an enthusiastic note while adapting to the state’s new curriculum and teaching structure.Maharashtra began the rollout its new school curriculum in phases starting 2025-26, closely following the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The syllabus transition is progressive with updated syllabi and textbooks developed by Balbharati for Std I in the last academic year (2025-26), for Stds II, III, IV and VI in the upcoming academic year (2026-27), in 2027-28 for Stds V, VII, IX and XI, followed by 2028-29 for Stds VIII, X and XII.
