Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday announced that schools, colleges and universities, including private educational institutions, would remain shut from Monday, April 17, for one week because of the prevailing heat-wave conditions.

Hours after Mamatamade the announcement in an interview with TV channel ABP Ananda, the education department issued two orders, one for schools and the other for colleges and universities.

Together, they asked all academic institutions —autonomous, state-aided, central government-aided and sponsored — along with“private schools” and “private universities” to close from April 17 for a week or until further orders “whichever is earlier”.

Schools and colleges in the hill districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong are exempt.

“The state government is going to issue a notification following our decision because the children cannot bear the heat,” Mamata told ABP Ananda.

“When adults are struggling to cope with the heat, how can children be expected to cope with it? We don’t want children to suffer in this scorching sun. Don’t I have to take steps in the interest of the people?”

Mamata said: “I shall request private schools to please comply with this decision. I have seen on several occasions that although government schools act in compliance with the government’s decisions, private schools don’t. But the students of private schools are children too.”

Several private schools have informed parents that they would remain closed this week.

Reverend Paritosh Canning, bishop of the Calcutta diocese of the Church of North India, requested the 15 schools under the aegis of the diocese to comply with the government order.

“It is very hot now, so I have requested the schools to follow the order. Wherever possible, the schools can have online classes,” he said.

Some of the 15 schools on Sunday evening decided to switch to online classes.

La Martiniere for Girls and La Martiniere for Boys, which were to begin their new academic session on Tuesday, will have online classes this week.

“There will be a reduced timetable (compared with a usual school day). Since it is the beginning of the session, students will have some introductory classes, especially in the junior classes,” said Rupkatha Sarkar, principal, La Martiniere for Girls.

Modern High School for Girls will have online classes only for Classes X and XII as of now.

South Point has issued a notice saying classes will remain suspended from Monday to Saturday.

“However, all improvement tests scheduled during the week will be conducted as per schedule announced earlier and pupils who are required to sit for the same must attend school on the scheduled dates,” the notice said.

The school said it would make sure that the tests are held in an air-conditioned environment.

Loreto House will conduct online classes from Tuesday, an official of the school said.

St Xavier’s Collegiate School will have online classes from Wednesday.

South City International School and MP Birla Foundation Higher Secondary School will have online classes from Monday. Rammohan Mission High School has through a notice said that classes will remain suspended until further notice.

Mamata said that if the teachers wanted to teach and the students to attend classes, “they have to work from home”.

“Extra classes can be taken later,” she told the TV channel.

An education department official said the department’s April 13 order, which had asked the state’s primary and secondary education boards to start the summer vacation in government and government-aided schools on May 2 because of the heat, was now invalidated.

After the April 13 order, many teachers’ associations had wondered how the department had worked out that the heat-wave conditions would prevail in early May as well.

Sunday’s order says: “The teaching and non-teaching staff will also remain on leave as a special case during the (one-week) period or till the schools reopen. However, the teaching and non-teaching staff of the schools shall make suitable arrangements for taking extra classes after reopening the schools to make up for the loss due to the closure of schools.”