Top official regrets extra holidays for Ganpati

Three days after his office added two extra days to Ganesh Chaturthi holidays for schools, school education director Sarjerao Jadhav said Tuesday they had made a mistake by giving in to political pressure.

Following repeated demands by the Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena (MNVS), the student wing of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), the deputy director of school education issued a circular on September 7, declaring a four-day holiday from September 9 to 12, for all primary and secondary schools, including convent schools, during Ganesh festival. As per the original calendar, schools were to be shut only on September 9 and 10.

"Taking such a decision under political pressure was the biggest mistake committed by the two officers," said Jadhav, referring to BMC education officer R R Bhise and deputy director of school education, N B Chavan.

He said the decision should have been left to the discretion of the school managements. "There was no need for them (the officials) to interfere. Schools have to decide the duration of holidays. Convent schools, for example, give longer holidays for Christmas as compared to Ganesh Chaturthi, while it is the opposite for schools in the Konkan region. It is up to the parents to decide which school to send their children to, depending on their holiday preferences," he said.

Jadhav said the education department would now have to compensate for the additional leaves.