Mumbai: A holiday has been declared for schools and colleges across Mumbai, Thane, and Navi Mumbai on Monday due to an ‘orange’ alert issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall and gusty winds.Mumbai University too has postponed all examinations scheduled for Monday, in view of the IMD’s forecast. In a circular issued by the university’s Examination and Evaluation Board on Sunday, the decision was taken keeping in mind the safety of students. The university said the revised examination schedule will be announced shortly on its official website. Students have been advised to regularly check the university website for further updates.The respective local municipal corporations and district administrations issued the school/college holiday orders late Sunday evening following consecutive days of relentless downpours that have severely disrupted normal life, administrative operations, and public transport networks across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has additionally issued an advisory appealing to all citizens to remain indoors and avoid traveling unless it is absolutely urgent.While Mumbai, Thane, and Navi Mumbai have enforced blanket closures for all educational institutions, the decision in Palghar has been left up to the schools. Palghar district collector Indurani Jakhad has authorised individual primary and secondary school principals to determine whether to declare a holiday based on their specific local weather conditions and student safety parameters. The district administration has directed that if a school chooses to suspend regular classes, they must conduct online classes instead to ensure that students do not miss out on academic instruction.The region has seen significant academic disruption over the past few days, leading to a mounting number of lost school days for students. In Thane and Navi Mumbai, Monday marks the third full day of lost school work since last week. Thane district previously suspended classes on Friday and Saturday through varying civic orders, while Navi Mumbai schools were also entirely closed on both Friday and Saturday. Students in Mumbai are facing their second consecutive operational disruption after the civic body previously declared a sudden holiday halfway through the active school day on Saturday.(Inputs by B B Nayak, Manoj Badgeri & Yogita Rao)
