Following the incessant rains, the Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban District has declared a holiday for schools on Wednesday (October 16, 2024). However, no holiday has been declared for degrees, post graduation, diploma, engineering and ITI colleges.
G. Jagadeesh, Deputy Commissioner, issued a circular on Tuesday (October 15, 2024) that as per the Metrological Department’s ‘Orange Alert’ forecast on October 16 to 17, as a precautionary measure in the interest of students, holiday has been declared on October 16, 2024 in all taluks’ anganwadi centres and schools.
He also instructed educational institutions to make up for the lack of learning time by holding extra classes on Saturday afternoons or Sundays.
Meanwhile, some schools have decided to switch to the online mode instead of extra classes. Delhi Public Schools decided to switch to online classes for students of kindergarten to class 12 on Wednesday (October 16, 2024) to ensure the safety of students and uninterrupted learning of children.
“This decision has been made to prioritise their well-being and to mitigate any disruption caused by the adverse weather conditions. Details of the online classes will be shared by the respective class teachers in the official class WhatsApp groups,” said a statement from Delhi Public School-North.
On Tuesday (October 15, 2024), attendance of students in schools and colleges in Bengaluru was low following incessant overnight rains that lashed the city. As the heavy downpour continued in the morning, students struggled to step out of their homes to go to schools and colleges, thus remaining absent from classrooms.
Due to Dasara holidays, many State-board government and private schools are set to resume classes from October 21, 2024. Hence, only institutions under central boards like Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and others functioned.
When the skies opened up
Owing to the rainfall, most parents took their children to school in their own vehicles. Slow-moving traffic in the city limits saw school vehicles getting stuck in traffic. As a result, children arrived late in some schools.
“Every day I used to send my son to school by auto. But even the auto did not come today because of the continuous rain. So, I dropped him off to school in the car,” said Harikumar, a parent from Banashankari II Stage.
“The number of students attending classes is low due to the heavy rains. Fewer number of students have come even in school vehicles. The rains may stop in the afternoon. We will continue to take classes for the students who have come,” said the Headmistress of a private school in Basavanagudi.
The number of students who turned up to colleges, including Pre-University colleges, degree, engineering and others institutions across the city, was also low.
“Induction programmes for my daughter, who has been admitted to first year engineering course this year, began on Monday (October 14, 2024), and regular classes will start on Wednesday (October 16, 2024). So I took her in an auto in the rain and dropped her to college,” said Mahalakshmi, a parent from Vijayanagar.
“It had been raining continuously since night and it did not stop even at 10 a.m. So, I decided not to go to college today as I feared there would not be transport options,” said Tarun, a degree student.
Published - October 15, 2024 07:47 pm IST
