Sonepur, Jul 17: Sonepur district administration declared a holiday for all educational institutions on Friday following continuous heavy rainfall over the past two days.

Acting on the instructions of District Collector Nruparaj Sahu, Emergency Officer Chittaranjan Mishra directed the District Education Officer early in the morning to announce the closure of all schools.

Following the directive, District Education Officer Meenarani Pradhan issued an order shutting down all government and private schools across the district.

However, several Shishu Vidya Mandir schools, which begin classes as early as 6 a.m., remained open despite the administration’s holiday announcement. As a result, many students and their parents had already ventured out and were forced to travel through heavy rain, causing significant inconvenience.

The delay in implementing the closure order has triggered resentment among parents and students, who criticized the school authorities for failing to promptly comply with the district administration’s directive.