Schools in Nagpur defied the state Education Department's orders to start the Diwali vacations from October 28 and instead pushed it to October 31.
A CBSE school principal, who did not wish to be identified said, "We went ahead with exams in online mode for kids up to class eight. Physical exams were held as per schedule for class nine. Problem is that we just can't push the stop button in less than 24 hours. The exam schedule is planned at least a month in advance, sometime even earlier if it had been a non-COVID year. Now because restrictions keep coming and going, we can't plan too far ahead."
Forbidding even online classes from being conducted was a major reason why the schools were upset. A principal said, "What is their problem if we are holding online exams and classes? We want that exams for this term must be over before Diwali so that teachers get enough time for evaluation. Also, after Diwali, we will be busy with Class X and XII Term-1 exams."
The state board schools were no exception to this either. A principal said, "On Wednesday afternoon, we received a letter that from Thursday vacations will start. In their earlier letter, it was to start from November 1. It's unacceptable that those sitting in Mantralaya can act as they please."
The surprising thing is that even officials have turned a blind eye towards the schools for disobeying the orders. The department did not receive any complaints so everything was closed. An Education Department official said, "We were told that the government had to conduct some survey and that's why these vacations got preponed by two-three days. Schools already had exams scheduled, not all but quite a few, so they went ahead with that. Majority of them, however, held these exams online."