This academic year, the vacation schedule is radically different from the usual routine followed by students and their parents. After a long and stressful third quarter, children were given just one additional day off – March 6, Friday. Combined with the weekend, the break lasted only three days, after which classes were supposed to resume on March 9.
This schedule has caused outrage among parents and has been actively discussed on social media.
One mother expressed her bewilderment: "How could the vacation schedule be calculated this way? Don't you understand that children can experience burnout? The third quarter lasts 80 days, and the break is only for one day. Let's not forget that these are children, especially in elementary grades, who cannot cope with such a load. There are norms that suggest a balanced rest," she noted.
Tests and final assessments are usually conducted 1–2 weeks before the end of the quarter to evaluate the level of material comprehension and, if necessary, offer additional assignments. Grades for the quarter are assigned a few days before the start of the break so that teachers can enter them into the journals and discuss them with parents and students.
Teachers have expressed their dissatisfaction regarding this matter.
One educator highlighted on social media: "How can we conduct tests in 22 classes in three days and manage to assign grades? Why weren't we notified in advance? Or at least why weren't the vacation dates shifted? Now teachers are under stress because they need to conduct tests and assign grades, while students have a short time to correct their mistakes."
"Parents were heard, and the break was extended. But this created a huge problem for teachers. Instead of calmly assigning grades by March 5, they will now have to work nights until February 28. All plans are ruined," the educators add.
Teachers also note that in the "E-Kunduluk" system, which often malfunctions, new problems may arise.
"Imagine that all teachers start entering grades simultaneously in an emergency mode. The system simply won't handle the load. We'll have to duplicate data in paper journals, as was done in the first quarter, and then during the weekend, when the system load decreases, enter the grades into the electronic journal. Teachers will have to work overtime. They talk about reducing the workload for educators, while in reality, everything is becoming more complicated," they comment.
Educators point out that officials from the ministry repeatedly demonstrate a lack of understanding in organizing the educational process.
"The vacation was changed in such a way that both students and teachers are confused. The transition to offline learning is announced at the last moment, when children barely manage to get to school in the cold, and the third quarter was abruptly shortened. It creates the impression that decisions in the ministry are made spontaneously, without proper analysis," they share.
"Now teachers have only three days to assign quarterly grades, and some of them may have to work during the summer to correct mistakes. At least the vacation could have been moved to March 9–15. It seems that such issues do not concern the minister," the educators add.
The editorial team sent a request to the Ministry of Education with the following questions:
- Why was the extension of the vacation not announced in advance so that teachers could prepare for the end of the quarter?
- Why couldn't the vacation dates be shifted, for example, to March 9–15 or left as they were – a week after Nooruz?
Teachers are wondering: will the exam schedule change? And most importantly, almost an entire month will be outside the educational process, as the load will now be distributed unbalanced: after 10 days of rest, children will have to study for 15 days before the start of summer vacation. It will be difficult for students to return to a normal rhythm, absorb the educational material, and prepare for exams under such conditions.
The editorial team has not yet received answers to these questions.
