COIMBATORE: Tributes were paid to A P J Abdul Kalam, the ‘People’s President’ at many educational institutions here on Tuesday.
However, there was some confusion among students and parents about a holiday on Tuesday in view of the former President’s demise.
Government schools remained open as there was no official communication about a holiday, but many private schools were closed.
“Government schools functioned as usual. All the teachers reported for duty and around 60 percent of students attended classes. We did not get any order from the School Education Department a holiday on Tuesday,” said B Chandrasekar, headmaster of the Coimbatore Cloth Merchants Association Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Raja Street.
The students and teachers paid tributes to the former President in the school.
However, most private schools declared a holiday on Tuesday. Due to conflicting reports about a holiday, parents and students had to contact the management to check the actual status.
Almost all colleges in Coimbatore declared Tuesday as a holiday as a mark of respect to Abdul Kalam, said P R Muthusamy, president of the Association of Principals of Colleges of Bharathiar University.
At Bharathair University campus, students and faculty members led by Registrar K G Senthil Vasan paid tributes to Kalam.
“Based on media reports, we announced a holiday for the students. But teaching and non-teaching staff reported for duty,” said V Lakshmi Prabha, Principal of the Government College of Technology.
At the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, students and faculty members led by Vice Chancellor K Ramasamy paid tributes to Kalam.