Patna, Nov. 7: Suspension of classes in private schools for five days in a row from November 10 has cast a shadow on the timely completion of syllabus.

Schools across the state will remain closed on November 10 on account of Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary. On November 11 and 12, the private schools will remain shut as a mark of protest against the compulsory registration norm of the state government. November 13 is a Sunday and classes remain suspended in most schools on November 14 on account of Children’s Day.

The routine holidays apart, the closure of schools to protest against the state government’s decision has not gone down well with guardians of several students.

Private schools across the state had remained shut on September 28 though the state human resource development (HRD) department had postponed the September 30 deadline for registration to November 12. At a state-level convention on October 16, schools, under the banner of Co-ordination Committee of Public School Associations of Bihar, had passed a resolution refusing to get registered.

Kripa Sagar, whose son studies in Class VII in a school run by the Christian Minority Educational Society, said: “Parents are not in favour of private schools closing down. However, if the state government keeps forcing them to get registered, they would have to leave the state. No school providing quality education for our children would be left in the state.” Sagar added that the present impasse and frequent holiday breaks were taking a toll on studies of their children.

Echoing Sagar, Niti Jain, whose two daughters go to the same school, said: “It’s not a matter of just five days. All the schools along with that of my daughters’ were closed on September 28 to protest against the registration norm. Thereafter, Dussehra, Diwali and Chhath vacations disturbed the continuity of the syllabus.”

B. Kumar, the father of a Class VII student, was also worried about the vacations. Kumar said: “Vacations give us tension these days because it slows down the progress of the syllabus. The state government’s pressure on the schools to get registered is compelling them to suspend classes.”

Mamta Roy, a student’s mother, said: “It is tough to get children back to studies after long vacations. Another closure starting from November 10 is a big tension for me. My son will lose focus again.”

Shamael Ahmad, the president of Private Schools and Children Welfare Association, said administrators of different schools will wear black ribbons on their wrists on November 9 and observe a daylong fast the next day. They would take out a candlelight march from SK Memorial Hall to Kargil Chowk on November 10. On November 11, a state-level protest would be held at Patliputra Ashok. Then, a charter of demands would be handed to the chief minister, the governor and the state HRD minister. The district headquarters would be gheraoed on November 12.

D.K. Singh, the chairman of Bihar Public Schools and Children’s Welfare Association, said: “Schools across the state would be closed on November 11 and 12. We are not ready to get registered because we do not want undue interference of the government.”