Pvt schools remain shut, govt institutions open

Amritsar, August 9

A majority of educational institutes, including private schools, remained closed today in response to a bandh call given by the Christian community to protest violence in Manipur.

Several Christian and Dalit organisations had yesterday called for the Punjab bandh on Wednesday. Considering the safety and security of students and staff, several private schools declared it a holiday today even as government institutions remained open as there was no official order for the closure of schools by the state government.

While various Ravidassia and Valmiki groups — apart from Bahujan Samaj Party members — backed the bandh call, a few schools that had ignored it were forced to close early after miscreants forcibly getting shops closed were reported in the city.

Confusion prevailed on Tuesday evening as, in response to the bandh call, several missionary schools of the district declared Wednesday a holiday.

Meanwhile, DEO Sushil Kumar Tuli said classes continued in government schools as usual as there was no official notification or order received by his office from the state government on regarding a holiday.

In line with the DEO’s statement, some private schools chose to remain open. A majority of the private schools sent messages to parents about today being a holiday.

“Our children’s school sent a message that August 9 will be a holiday. Later, around 9 pm, we received a message that the school would be open tomorrow. But we decided not to send our children to school to avoid any untoward incident,” said Anjana Soni, a parent from Basant Avenue.

Attendance was low in schools that functioned despite the bandh call.