Many private schools in the Darjeeling hills have started declaring summer vacation in line with the request from the state government.
In Darjeeling, where summer weather is pleasant, summer vacation is just a weeklong break, which is declared after the mid-term examinations during mid-June.
Following the Bengal government’s decision to declare summer vacations in government schools from Saturday till May 31, the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) followed up with a similar order on Friday.
Even though no specific directive has been issued to the private schools in Darjeeling, sources said some of them started declaring the
summer break.
“We received the orders for government schools and, taking into consideration various factors, we, too, have decided to close the institution for the summer break,” said a head of a Darjeeling institution who did not want to be named.
Some other heads of private institutions, however, said that declaring a sudden holiday was not an
easy decision.
“This is because we have many international students also. We have to ensure the safe travel of the boarders even inside the country. We also need to inform the parents so that they can fetch their wards,” said another school head.
A representative of the private schools in Kalimpong said that many private institutions in the district were adopting a wait and watch policy given the issues surrounding
the boarders.
“We have taken cognisance of the state government’s appeal. However, since it is a weekend and schools are closed anyway, we have decided to hold another meeting on Monday to decide on declaring summer break,” said a representative of the private school’s association.
Many educationists maintain that a long summer break could put pressure on schools to complete their syllabus, especially for students who have to sit for board examinations next year.
“This is because the hill schools remain closed for more than two-and-a-half months during the winters because of the cold,” the
educationist explained.
“However, the situation
is different in the country at the moment,” the educationist added.
The fear of war in the country has also immediately hit tourism in Darjeeling
and Sikkim.
May is one of the peak tourism months in the region as tourists visit the hills for respite from the plains’ heat.
“However, we have started getting cancellations as people are not too confident of travelling in the present situation. We are hardly getting new bookings for the month,” said a hotelier from Darjeeling.