Something strange is stirring in Kolkata's college corridors—and it’s not just the summer heat.

On the evening of May 27, 2025, just as students and professors were preparing to unplug and escape the scorching summer, the University of Calcutta dropped a curveball: an advisory asking affiliated colleges to hold classes during what’s traditionally the summer break—from May 29 to June 30.

Wait, what?

Yes. Classes. In summer vacation.

Technically, it was phrased as an "advisory." Not an order, not a directive—just a suggestion. But let’s be honest, when a university issues something like this, it doesn’t exactly feel optional, does it?

The reason behind this last-minute move? A delayed academic calendar. Because of hiccups in last year’s admission process—thanks to the confusion over switching to a centralised portal—classes for the 2024–25 session started much later than usual. Now, the university seems to be playing catch-up.

CU Registrar Debasis Das tried to explain. He said colleges could choose how to conduct these classes—online, offline, or hybrid. But instead of clearing things up, this flexibility only stirred more questions: Who decides what mode to use? How does this affect faculty workloads? What happens to scheduled vacations?

The result? Widespread confusion.

Colleges were thrown into a tailspin. On May 28, the Calcutta University Committee of the All-Bengal Principals' Council held an emergency meeting just to decode what the advisory actually meant.

Ayantika Ghosh, Principal of Naba Ballygunge Mahavidyalaya, shared her candid thoughts with The Hindu. She said, “The advisory has given rise to queries, confusion, and mixed opinions. As a principal, I see this more as a suggestion, not a mandate.” And she’s right to be cautious—because summer vacations in Calcutta University aren’t just tradition; they’re policy, written into the 1978 CU statute.

Reema Roy, part of the governing body at Asutosh College, echoed similar concerns. Faculty members, she noted, were puzzled by how to interpret the terms ‘recess’ and ‘class’—a distinction that suddenly mattered. But she made something else clear too: students come first. “In any case, we have been taking classes during recess to help complete the syllabus,” she said.

That sentiment was echoed by Jaideep Sarangi, CU chapter president of the All Bengal Principals Council and Principal of New Alipore College. “Let’s not panic,” he said. “This is an advisory, not a notice. Every year we find ways to complete the syllabus—whether that’s online classes or adjusting schedules.” He even suggested that this was meant to help slow learners, giving departments the flexibility to provide extra support during the break.

Still, the timing and tone of the advisory have left many wondering: if this wasn’t mandatory, why release it with so little time and so much ambiguity?

In an environment where educators are already juggling tight schedules, exam planning, and student needs, the last thing anyone needed was vague messaging. But here we are, two days before the so-called "summer school" starts, and colleges are still deciding how—or whether—to proceed.

The bottom line? The intention might have been good—catching up on lost academic time, offering extra support—but the execution has left many colleges scrambling.

Because when it comes to education, clarity matters. And in this case, clarity seems to be the one thing still missing from the classroom.