– Mita Mukherjee

Bengal government has extended the summer vacation for government-aided schools until May 31, according to an order issued by the state school education department on Wednesday evening.

Students will get a total of 21 days holiday instead of eight days after the extension. The schools will reopen on June 1.

The erstwhile Trinamool Congress government had earlier announced that the summer vacation this year would start on May 11 and schools would reopen on May 18.

The commissioner of school education department said in the order on Wednesday, ” The school education department has decided to extend the ongoing summer vacation, which has started from.May 11 in all Govt, aided/ sponsored schools in the state up to 31.05.2026.”

The order applies to state aided schools but there is no mention about those run by private organisations. The private schools can follow their own schedule, sources said.

Though no reasons were cited for extending the vacation, sources in the school education department said that the decision has been taken in view of increasing temperature in various districts in the state. The extension of vacation is aimed to ensure safety and security of students and to ensure that children do not fall sick because of the heat, the sources said.

Some schools said the erstwhile government had shortened the summer vacation so that schools could be kept closed for a longer period of time during Durga Puja.