Ishtiyaq Mohi-ud-din
The proposal to move schools to a five-day week, from Monday to Friday, deserves a wider debate than simply whether students and teachers get an extra day off. The real question is whether the education system is ready to deliver better learning outcomes with fewer classroom days.
Globally, five-day school weeks are not unusual. Countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and much of Europe operate primarily on Monday-to-Friday schedules. However, these systems are supported by strong educational infrastructure, longer instructional hours, technology-enabled learning, well-equipped schools and uninterrupted academic calendars. OECD data shows that the number of instructional days varies significantly, ranging from around 162 days in France to more than 200 days in Japan and Israel. What matters is not merely the number of school days but the quality and consistency of learning.
J&K presents a unique case. Unlike many countries that follow a five-day model, schools in Kashmir already lose substantial classroom time due to prolonged winter vacations, often stretching for three to four months in higher-altitude regions. In addition, summer vacations and weather-related disruptions further reduce effective teaching days. If another weekly holiday is introduced without a corresponding redesign of the academic calendar, the cumulative loss of instructional time could be considerable.
Supporters of the proposal argue that a shorter week can reduce stress, improve student well-being and provide time for self-learning. That argument has merit, but only if students actually have access to meaningful learning opportunities outside the classroom. Unfortunately, that remains a challenge in many parts of Jammu and Kashmir. In numerous far-flung government schools, basic infrastructure deficiencies continue to persist. Access to reliable internet, smart classrooms, digital devices, science laboratories and even essential facilities remains uneven.
A five-day week works best when technology bridges the learning gap between school and home. In Kashmir, such technology-led interventions have yet to reach every student in a meaningful way. The private education sector, despite better infrastructure in many cases, hasn’t yet achieved any meaningful growth.
Like Government schools, much of classroom teaching remains heavily teacher-centric, examination-driven and rooted in methods that have changed little over the last two decades. Students are still often rewarded for memorisation rather than innovation, questioning and problem-solving. Reducing the number of school days without transforming how learning happens may simply compress an already outdated model into fewer hours.
At the same time, the debate should not become a defence of the status quo. The future of education cannot be measured merely by attendance registers and classroom hours. Around the world, education is moving towards experiential learning, project-based assignments, digital collaboration and artificial intelligence-assisted personalised learning. UNESCO and other global institutions have emphasised that the classrooms of the future must prepare students to think critically, adapt to change and work alongside emerging technologies. Perhaps the real opportunity lies not in asking whether schools should operate five days or six, but in reimagining what students do during those days.
Students need opportunities to learn beyond the four walls of a classroom.
(The author is a freelancer)
