How many working days should be in an academic year according to NCF 2023?
How many working days should be in an academic year according to NCF 2023?
Considerations for time allocation across Preparatory, Middle and Secondary Stages
a. The annual working year for schools has 220 instruction/school-going days after taking into consideration national holidays, term breaks, and vacations.
b. Of these 220 days, around 20 days may be considered for assessments and other assessment-related activities across Stages.
c. Another 20 days may be set aside for school events and other similar activities (or as buffer for less foreseeable events) in schools.
d. Therefore, a safe estimate can be of 180 days of instruction time across these three Stages at school.
e. Given the wide range of contexts in which schools operate across the country, a working school week has been taken as five and a half days (with Saturdays as half working days).
f. Since not all Saturdays are likely to be working for all students, the model here has considered five and a half days of school every alternate week only.
g. Given the range of subjects in the different Stages, and the reasonable number of hours students can spend in school, a working school year would have around 34 working weeks of around 29 hours of instruction hours every week.
Twelve Questions with Answer to Understand Time Allocation for an Academic Year in a School According to NCF 2023
Question 1: How many working days should be in an academic year according to NCF 2023?
Answer: 180 days
Question 2: What is the recommended working school week according to NCF 2023?
Answer: Five and a half days, with Saturdays as half working days
Question 3: How many days are recommended by NCF 2023 for assessments and other assessment-related activities?
Answer: 20 days
Question 4: How many days are recommended for school events and other similar activities by NCF 2023 ?
Answer: 20 days
Question 5: What is the recommended number of instruction hours per week by NCF 2023 ?
Answer: 29 hours
Question 6: What are some of the factors that were considered when designing the time allocation recommendations?
Answer: The range of subjects in the different Stages, the reasonable number of hours students can spend in school, and the wide range of contexts in which schools operate across the country.
Question 7: How many instruction days are there in a school year as per NCF 2023’s considerations?
Answer: According to NCF 2023, there are 220 instruction days in a school year.
Question 8: Why are around 20 days allocated for assessments in the school year?
Answer: Approximately 20 days are set aside for assessments to evaluate students’ progress and learning across different stages.
Question9: What is the purpose of allocating 20 days for school events and activities?
Answer: These 20 days are reserved for school events and activities or as a buffer for unexpected events, enriching students’ school experiences.
Question 10: How many days of instruction time are estimated by NCF 2023 for Preparatory, Middle, and Secondary Stages combined?
Answer: A safe estimate is 180 days of instruction time across these three stages in a school year.
Question 11: Why is a working school week considered as five and a half days with half working Saturdays?
Answer: This flexible schedule accommodates different regional and cultural contexts where not all Saturdays may be working for all students.
Question 12: How many working weeks and instruction hours are there in a school year, considering NCF 2023?
Answer: A school year typically has around 34 working weeks with approximately 29 hours of instruction time every week.
Regards
Rajeev Ranjan
School Education
“Let knowledge grow from more to more.”
Alfred Tennyson, “In Memoriam”, Prologue, line 25
References and Resources
https://dsel.education.gov.in/sites/default/files/NCF2023.pdf
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID