Jayalalithaa in jail: Parents find school federation’s stand on holiday confusing

Chennai: Parents have complained that the Federation of Private Schools Tamil Nadu’s (FPSTN) statement, first calling for closure of private schools, then saying that they would work as usual, had been disruptive and confusing.  

“Schools are not connected with any political happenings. The government should pull up the FPSTN,” said N. Veeraperumal of Mylapore, exasperated. With no word from the school education department, he had visited his son's school in person to find out whether it was operational. 

“My son was happy to go after a week’s leave. But he received calls from his friends about the closure of schools, and I did not want to take a chance and so ensured that he could attend school," he said.

Class 4 student Madhanachandran’s father P. Simmachandran said MAK Matric School at Jafferkhanpet, where his son is studying, had announced a holiday on Tuesday. “The school notice board says that the school is closed, but the TV news says that all schools will function as usual,” he said. The government should take action against the federation for causing confusion among students and parents.

Read: Jayalalithaa arrest protest: School association faces flak

Many students, who had stopped preparing for their quarterly exam, returned  to their studies on Monday. “The school officials did not give any  announcement on the holiday. My nephew, who is in Class 12, had an exam scheduled on Tuesday and had not prepared for it, going by the earlier notification of a holiday. The flip-flop on the holiday has only given the ruling party negative publicity. Children were not even aware of the arrest and the politics around it,” said Zakeer Hussain of Pudupet.

Meanwhile, The Federation of Private Schools in Tamil Nadu’s  (FPSTN) announcement, first declaring closure of schools on Sunday and then retracting this on Monday, has baffled many school managements and caused needless trouble for students and parents.

Lakshmi Gandham, principal, Sundaram Matric School at K.K. Nagar, which will function on Tuesday, said that there was no official information from the government on the holiday, but anonymous messages kept flooding her mobile about the closure and cancellation of the holiday. “Since the ruling party is involved, I hope that they will not cause any inconvenience,” she said. 

The vice-principal of a matric school at Chetpet said that divided opinion among schools made it difficult for them to function smoothly. “A school trip on September 27 had to be cancelled, and we have a tightly packed schedule for Tuesday,” she added.