Kolkata: A circular issued by Calcutta University, instructing affiliated undergraduate colleges to conduct classes during the summer recess, has taken many college principals by surprise. However, the university authorities have clarified that the move aims at making up for learning losses faced due to the delay in last year's admission process, which was conducted through the centralised admission portal.The advisory, signed by the CU registrar and issued by the university on Tuesday, has asked colleges to hold classes between May 29 and June 30. Several college principals highlighted that the order came only a day before they were asked to start classes. This has prompted principals to hold a meeting where they decided that normal functions like summer internships and other processes will not be hampered by instructing students and teachers to attend offline classes during this period.Asutosh College principal Manas Kabi highlighted that they were completely unaware of this development. "CU has stopped releasing the academic calendar, making it difficult to determine summer holiday dates," he said. Traditionally, summer break begins on May 15 and continues until the end of June.He also explained that it became challenging for college principals to execute this order because many already made other plans, and some students had enrolled for summer internships. This uncertainty is causing significant disruption to both personal and academic schedules. He also stated that several teachers hold classes during the summer break as per requirement. Another principal from a college in South 24 Parganas said, "Before issuing such an order, the university should have consulted with college principals, or at least informed us, as it's our duty to convince both students and teachers to attend classes according to the circular."CU officials explained that this measure aims to address the learning gaps caused by delays in the centralised admission process. CU registrar Debasis Das told TOI: "The decision to adjust the academic schedule was made with students' best interests in mind. Due to delays in the centralised admission process, students had limited access to classes, creating learning gaps that need to be addressed through additional instruction." He also clarified that they failed to release the academic calendar due to the delayed admission procedure. However, college principals stated this practice had stopped after Covid.