Tamil Nadu schools reopen after month-long holidays

After a month-long extended holidays, school-goers in Tamil Nadu returned to their routine on Monday, with recent floods dominating discussions in many classrooms.

Many children traded stories of the recent rains and about their flood-ravaged houses, while parents who accompanied them to the schools also had whispered conversations about the devastation.

With textbooks washed away in the rains, students attending classes on Monday arrived without their usual bags and requested their teachers for time to buy books and notebooks.  Some schools are being used by Tamil Nadu government to conduct medical camps, while those in water logged areas extended the holidays.

Education department has issued special books to tenth and plus two students, who lost a month to the rains and floods, to ready themselves for the forthcoming board exams.  Tamil Nadu government had no options but to declare a month-long holiday as several school buildings caught in the heavy rains and floods were either badly damaged or unfit for use.

The month-long holidays were an unexpected break for school and college students who spent more time at home than it is usual for them in November and December.

Educational institutions in several districts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, were closed from November 12 due to heavy rains and floods.

Before this year, the maximum number of holidays for schools and colleges were declared in 2004 when the tsunami struck Tamil Nadu. Institutions were also closed in 2005 (four days), 2008 (three days), and 2010 (two days) due to heavy rain.