PANAJI
The educational institutions will operate as usual on Thursday as the Education Department stood firm and did not yield to pressure for announcing a holiday.
The demand for a holiday was quick to arise due to the continuous downpour over the past several days, and the Opposition also raised the matter in the ongoing legislative assembly.
Addressing the concern, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant informed the House that the Education Department will decide based on the situation by the evening. Ultimately, the department confirmed that there would be no holiday for schools.
"Schools will continue... The decision was made after a thorough assessment of the situation throughout the day, with reports from all zones being taken into consideration. Although there was heavy rainfall in the morning, it subsided after lunch, except for Bardez and a few isolated areas," Education Director Shailesh Zingde said while speaking to The Goan.
The department also coordinated with the IMD Goa for updates and was informed that Thursday would be under an orange alert, not a red alert. "Hence, we have decided to continue with regular classes," he said.
Earlier this month, the department declared a one-day holiday for all educational institutions under its purview due to demands from various quarters including students' associations and opposition parties. Ironically, the State experienced minimal rainfall that particular day.
