The education minister, Vinod Tawde, declared a holiday on Monday, due to the ongoing rain and bad weather. Schools and universities were told to take necessary action and allow its students and teachers to remain safe. Most examinations were postponed and set on a new date.
However, Tawde declared a holiday for schools on Twitter at around 11.33 am on Monday, and most schools start by 7 am. Troubled parents replied to his Twitter post saying that a prior intimation would have saved them the trouble of getting stuck in rains.
"Our School hours are from 9 am to 3 pm, when the news came we had already started. Most of our teachers and students had already arrived, some of them travelling from quite a distance. The ministry should have notified us a bit earlier so that we could keep the school closed. Some of our teachers are in a big query of how to return home in this bad weather" said Uday Nare Morarji, a teacher at Hansraj School.
"We are also urging our students and their parents to follow the news and act accordingly" he continued.
"This announcement should have been made a day before. Most of the schools have morning hours. There are transportation problems today. Until the government tells us we cannot declare a holiday on a working day" Said Prashant Redij, Secretary to the Mumbai Principal association. Transportation suffered heavily due to the rains.
Universities, with examinations, also suffered. Most of the examinations were postponed but in some centers, where students had arrived, examinations were taken as scheduled. " Practical Exams were supposed to be held today at 45 centers across the city. Examinations were held at some of them, where the students had arrived, rest were all postponed. Students who missed the examination are to be given a date to re-appear." said a spokesperson of Mumbai University.
A NEAR MISS
- Vinod Tawde declared a holiday for schools on Twitter at around 11.33 am on Monday
- Most schools start by 7 am in the morning
- Schools and parents replied to Tawde’s post saying a prior intimation would have helped them
