Noida: School closure order comes late, many students sent back home in rain

School principals said the order should have been given the previous evening in order to avoid inconvenience to students and parents

When residents of Gautam Budh Nagar woke up to heavy rain on Wednesday morning, several were unaware that the district administration had issued a school closure order early in the morning in view of the downpour. The result was that several students braved the rain and waterlogging to reach schools, only to be told to return to their homes.

According to parents’ associations and school principals, the order for the closure came around 7am by which time several students had already left their homes for school. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

According to parents’ associations and school principals, the order for the closure came around 7am by which time several students had already left their homes for school.

Yatendra Kasana, president of All Noida School Parents Association (ANSPA), said, “Several parents, like us, were not aware that there was a holiday on account of rain and sent their children to school. However, it was only after our children reached school that they were told to go back home as schools were closed. Children as well as parents faced inconvenience in the pouring rain.”

He added that his children study at a private school in Sector 16A and they returned home on the school bus. “The teachers then communicated to parents that online classes will be held for the rest of the day,” Kasana said.

School principals said the order should have been given the previous evening in order to avoid inconvenience to students and parents.

“The school closure order should ideally be sent out the previous evening as in the morning, it is extremely difficult for schools to communicate to hundreds of parents that schools are closed. Further, working parents need to make arrangements for their children’s care in the event of a holiday, which poses another problem for them. At our school, several working parents had to get their neighbours to look after their children for the day,” said Aditi Basu Roy, Principal of Grads International School, Greater Noida, and a member of All India Principals’ Association (GB Nagar chapter).

On the other hand, some schools ensured that parents were available to pick their children and only then were the students sent home.

“The school received the closure notice at 7am. By that time, our school buses were already on the road and a few students were already at school. So we decided to commence the dispersal process from 10 am and communicated to all parents to pick up their children from the bus stop,” said Asha Prabhakar, principal of Bal Bharti Public School, Sector 21, Noida.

She added that since weather is an unpredictable phenomenon, some inconvenience is acceptable. “We understand that the district administration is busy with rescue and relief efforts to those affected by the floods and hence the inconvenience caused due to late notice is acceptable,” said Prabhakar.

Manoj Kataria, Gautambudhnagar Parents Welfare Society (GPWS), said, “It was neither district administration’s fault nor schools’ in such a situation. Schools ensured children’s safety while returning them home in the morning and there was no untoward incident in the district.”

Dharmveer Singh, district inspector of schools, Gautam Budh Nagar, said they decided to announce a holiday for schools after taking stock of the weather situation in the morning.

“The notice was sent to all principals at 6.50am. While any inconvenience caused is regretted, the larger goal was to ensure students stay safe at home,” he said.