Parents are worried about the possibility of their children getting stranded on the road because of the BJP rally at Esplanade on Wednesday.
Classes at city schools usually end for the day between noon and 3pm. Different classes follow different dispersal timings.
Calcutta Girls’ High School have suspended classes on Wednesday and Welland Gouldsmith School in Bowbazar and Patuli have left it to parents to decide whether they will send their children to school or not.
Though the rally will be held in front of Victoria House at Esplanade, it is expected that traffic disruptions will occur in other parts of the city as well.
Many schools are located within a 2km radius of the central business district.
“My son travels to school in our car but I am worried about his return. His classes get over at 2.40pm. What if he gets caught in a traffic jam? Since it’s a political rally, there could be trouble on the road,” said S. Goswami, whose son goes to Don Bosco Park Circus.
“Since the elections are scheduled for next year, there would be many more political rallies and we cannot keep our children at home on every occasion,” said the Baguiati resident.
The father of a Class X boy said that if schools give off on such days, the parents need not worry about their children’s safety on the road.
“Since he is in a senior class, we cannot keep him at home. He will be missing
out on classes,” said the father, whose son has to travel from New Alipore to Minto Park.
Calcutta Girls’ High School and Welland Gouldsmith School in Bowbazar are located within 1km of Victoria House.
“We have postponed the unit tests and exams scheduled for Wednesday. We have told parents that it is up to them whether they want to send their children to school on Wednesday or not. If there is an exam, children are determined to come. So we have postponed it,” said Gillian Rosemary Hart, provost and CEO, Welland Gouldsmith School.
Hart said they received requests from parents to make the change.
“Many of the students travel through Central Avenue and some come from Howrah. So they requested us to change the exam date,” she said.
Calcutta Girls’ High School sent a notice to parents on Tuesday evening announcing that classes have been suspended on Wednesday.
Only the ISC practical exams will be conducted in the morning, the school said.
“There is no point in calling children at 8am and sending them back at 10am. And if we stretch till afternoon, chances are that students will get stranded,” said Basanti Biswas, principal, Calcutta Girls’ High School.
Ian Myers, principal of Frank Anthony Public School, said that if parents come to pick their children early on Wednesday, they would allow the students to leave.
The school, however, has not made any change in its schedule.
Some parents have had to make alternate arrangements as those running pool cars have already informed them that they will not turn up on Wednesday.
“I live close to the school but since my daughter is in Class IV, she cannot come on her own. The pool car driver has informed us that he will not come. I am a working mother and I cannot fetch her from school,” said the mother of a student at Sushila Birla Girls’ School.