Several schools have suspended classes and postponed the half-yearly exams scheduled on Tuesday and many others have decided to close early or shift to online classes apprehending “trouble on the roads”.

Birla High School, Sushila Birla Girls’ School, Calcutta Girls’ High School, St James’ School, Delhi Public School Ruby Park and Ruby Park Public School in Taratala are some of the institutions that have postponed exams scheduled on Tuesday and suspended in-person classes.

“Many parents wrote to us requesting us to postpone the exam as they are anticipating disruption on the roads. We have shifted it to a later date,” said Basanti Biswas, principal, Calcutta Girls’ High School.

Schools located in and around the city centre are more apprehensive of students getting stranded on the roads because of rallies and processions, several of them said.

If schools hold an exam, parents try to send their children despite apprehending traffic disruption, a teacher in a central Calcutta school said.

“Quite a number of our students come from far off, including Howrah. We do not want them to be inconvenienced,” said Koeli Dey, principal, Sushila Birla Girls’ School.

There could be traffic disruptions on the Howrah-bound flank from the city, said a police officer.

Lakshmipat Singhania Academy and South City International School will have online classes for students of Classes VI to XII. The junior classes have been given off.

Indus Valley World School will have online classes.

The Heritage School has suspended classes for students up to Class V and Classes VI to XII will give over early.

La Martiniere for Girls and La Martiniere for Boys have brought forward their dispersal timings.

“We suspended in-person classes because it might cause harassment to students if they get stranded in the traffic and parents will be worried. But we also have to complete the syllabus and so, we are conducting online classes for senior students,” said Satabdi Bhattacharjee, principal, South City International School.

The pool car owners’ welfare association informed parents on Monday that they would be “forced to suspend” services depending on the condition of the roads on Tuesday and will not be responsible for picking up or dropping off children after 9am.

“...we kindly request that children be sent to school at the guardian’s own risk” and guardians make arrangements for “personally picking and dropping of their children under such circumstances”.

In several parents’ forums throughout Monday, many expressed apprehensions about sending their children to school.

“It will cause us unnecessary harassment if the car gets stuck on the road so I am thinking of not sending my daughter to school,” said the mother of a girl in Class II.