To make up for Ganeshotsav holidays and complete the required number of working days for the academic year, several schools announce classes on first day of weekend
Parents say they were informed of the change at the last minute. File picture
Parents say they were informed of the change at the last minute. File picture
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While students of all city schools got a few extra holidays for Ganeshotsav after persistent demands by the Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena, they are now facing the prospect of having to go to school on Saturdays.
A number of schools have announced that regular classes will be held for a few Saturdays to complete the mandatory number of working days in an academic year. However, what has got parents fuming is that they were allegedly informed about the same at the last minute instead of consulting the Parent-Teacher Association, which is the norm.
Last-minute jolt
After Ganeshotsav holidays were announced, the schools were asked to ensure that they adjust the working days accordingly. While some schools had prepared their yearly calendars taking the extra leaves into consideration, many have suddenly declared their regular weekly holidays as working days, creating panic among parents.
After Borivli's St. Francis School declared that December 24 (Saturday) would be a working day, parents approached the office of the deputy director of education.
"On Friday, with only half an hour was left for the school to get over, we received messages that tomorrow there would be classes. Our children have to appear for the elementary and intermediate (competitive examination for drawing) test. Hence, we requested the school to shift classes to the Saturday after that, but it's refusing to," said a parent whose daughter is in Std VII.
"When we approached the deputy director of education, we were told that PTAs are consulted before taking decisions on how to adjust working days, but in our case, we were informed at the last minute," added another parent, who too has a girl in Std VII.
Despite repeated attempts by mid-day, principal Br Wilfred Monteiro of St. Francis School remained unavailable for comment. Principal of St. Mary's School in Mazgaon Father Francis Swamy, on the other hand, said, "We had decided the yearly calendar beforehand after speaking to our PTA."
Weekend woes
In Andheri's Hansraj Morarji School, days are adjusted with Diwali and summer vacations instead of having working days on weekly holidays, while St. Xavier's School in Dhobi Talao will have working Saturdays to adjust the four-day Ganeshotsav break. This, however, was mentioned in the holiday calendar at the start of the academic year. At Sarwapalli Radhakrishnan School in Malad too, Saturdays are working.
When contacted, Assistant Deputy Director of Education Rajendra Ahire said, "When schools were asked to give holiday for Ganesh festival, we had told them to adjust those working days in the calendar. But, yes, PTAs have to be consulted for that and information sent to our office."
"If parents approach us with complaints against schools that have not followed this, we will take a call on what can be done," he added.
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