The Northern Marianas' Public School System says switching Austerity Fridays to Mondays could hamper student learning.
School materials in CNMI Photo: CNMI Public School System
The CNMI public service has been operating on a 32 hour week since March after the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic started to impact government finances.
The non work day had been Friday but the Governor Ralph Torres this week switched it to Monday.
However the Education Commissioner, Alfred Ada, said this throws a wrench in the schools' already set calendars, because more holidays fall on a Monday.
He said this will mean the shutdown then happening on the Tuesday with the CNMI government closing down that day.