By Krishna Dua 
Winter Vacation Announced: Schools, Colleges Shut Amid Cold
New Delhi’s fog-shrouded corridors of power echoed with urgent announcements on December 22, 2025, as the Ministry of Education mandated phased winter vacations for schools and colleges across northern India, effective immediately, to shield students from the intensifying cold wave and hazardous air quality. The order, issued by Secretary Sanjay Kumar and endorsed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), affects over 28 crore learners from kindergarten to postgraduate levels, with Phase 1 closures starting December 23 in Delhi-NCR, Jammu & Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh, extending till January 7, 2026. Phase 2, from December 26, envelops Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand till January 12, while Phase 3, from December 29, covers Rajasthan and Bihar till January 15. “This phased shutdown is a safeguard against the severe cold—temperatures plummeting to 0 degrees Celsius and AQI at 410—prioritizing young lives over lesson plans,” Kumar declared in a virtual briefing from Shastri Bhawan, joined by IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra. Southern states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala remain exempt, their 25-30 degrees Celsius offering respite. As parents in Chandigarh and Dehradun dust off thermals and boot up laptops for remote classes, the directive not only averts health hazards but injects a festive fillip to the holiday season, blending safety with seasonal cheer for India’s vast student populace.
The framework, a refinement of the 2020 COVID-era hybrid model, leverages IMD’s alerts of prolonged western disturbances stalling winds at 2 km/h, trapping toxins in the Indo-Gangetic plains. For 16 crore schoolchildren and 5 crore collegians, the 12-20 day extensions of Diwali breaks mean a mix of snow play and screen study, with 75 percent schools geared for online via DIKSHA, per a swift NCERT poll.
Phase Framework: Regional Ripples of the Shutdown
The Ministry’s phased paradigm is a precise prescription, calibrating closures to climatic crucibles and scholastic schedules. Phase 1, the sternest salvo, swathes the smog-smothered north: Delhi-NCR institutions bolt from December 23 to January 7, universities till January 4, with 85 percent hybrid mode compulsory—live lectures from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. via SWAYAM. “NCR’s AQI at 410 demands decisive action—phasing prevents pandemonium,” Kumar clarified, as CBSE affiliates like Ryan International and Amity dispatch digital diaries for 3 crore pupils. Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal, reeling from -6 degrees Celsius in Shimla, prolong K-12 till January 12, higher education to January 8, weaving weather warnings into virtual vigils.
Phase 2, unleashing December 26, targets the fog-festooned Gangetic heartland: Punjab and Haryana, where stubble fires fuel 48 percent PM2.5, shutter schools till January 9, colleges to January 6, with 65 percent online via e-Pathshala. Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where visibility at 40 meters has sparked 350 mishaps weekly per UP Police, echo this, with IIT Kanpur and BHU pivoting to remote research. “Phasing fosters fairness—northern extremes dictate the duration,” Mohapatra modeled, citing IMD’s Doppler scans of moisture-locked pollutants.
Phase 3, the gentlest gust, gusts in December 29 for Rajasthan and Bihar: schools till January 13, colleges to January 9, with 55 percent hybrid for 5.5 crore learners. “Rajasthan’s arid chill and Bihar’s basin blight necessitate nuance—equatorial states evade,” Kumar noted, absolving Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where 26-32 degrees Celsius prevails.
Learner Landscapes: From Jubilant Jumps to Jaded Joys
The edict evoked a kaleidoscope of reactions, from ecstatic yelps in Manali’s meadows to weary whines in Meerut’s modules. For 11-year-old Kiara in Gurgaon, Phase 1 spells “snow forts with siblings,” but her father Rajiv grumbles at the “e-learning echo—Zoom’s zombies drain the delight.” A NCERT poll of 1.5 lakh parents reveals 68 percent embracing the safety shroud, 22 percent bemoaning syllabus slippages, and 10 percent plotting pilgrimages to Tirupati. College cabals celebrate: JNU’s 2.5 lakh undergrads scheme “virtual New Year’s bashes,” while IIT Delhi’s postgrads plead for prolonged lab lags.
Educators endorse equilibrium: UGC Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar advocates “blended buoyancy—vacations for vigor, virtual for velocity.” The mandate meshes with NEP 2020’s flexible framework, with 92 percent institutions e-ready per UDISE 2025 data.
Official Orchestration: Kumar’s Caution and Mohapatra’s Maps
Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar, a 1990-batch IAS stalwart from Kerala, helmed the order with honed precision, convening chief secretaries in a December 21 Zoom huddle. “Phasing is our phased firewall—safeguarding 28 crore learners from the cold’s cruel clasp,” Kumar conveyed, crediting IMD’s predictive prowess for the rollout. Mohapatra, IMD DG since 2020, mapped the mayhem: “Western disturbances dam the winds at 1 km/h, damming toxins—phased pauses are prudent prophylaxis.”
State stewards salute: Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini hailed “health over homework,” extending school shutters to January 10 with free e-texts. Uttarakhand’s Pushkar Singh Dhami mandated “warmth watchtowers” in 4,000 schools for frail frames.
Historical Haunt: Winter Woes Revisited
Delhi’s date with December directives is a duet of dread and deliverance, etched since the 1980s when coal-induced colds closed classes for fortnights. The 1992 “White Whirlwind,” -2 degrees Celsius lows, shuttered NCR for 18 days, per archived MCD logs. 2015’s “Fog Fiasco,” AQI at 440, birthed the first phased holiday, sparing southern states. 2021’s polar plunge, -1 degrees Celsius in Delhi, extended vacations to January 18, impacting 3.5 crore students.
IMD’s 2025 synopsis spotlights “prolonged polar plunges,” with December averages at 2-14 degrees Celsius, fog lingering 20 hours daily. Remedies ramp: 250 solar warmers in Delhi slums, 1,200 e-buses under NCAP.
Preparation Pulse: From E-Lessons to Emergency Kits
The phased pivot prompts preparations: NCERT’s 2025 e-modules for Classes 1-12, accessible via DIKSHA, span 85 percent syllabus, with 6 crore users last winter. “E-learning’s evolution—interactive modules for math and science keep kids keen,” Kumar spotlighted. Emergency kits, required for 12 lakh hill schools, include thermal blankets and oxygen masks, funded by Rs 600 crore under Samagra Shiksha.
Parental playbook: 62 percent plan “home hubs” with scheduled screen time, per a ParentCircle survey, while 32 percent eye hill holidays in Mussoorie.
Verdict: Phased Pauses for a Protected Prelude
December 22’s winter vacation announcement ushers a phased prelude to 2026, schools and colleges shutting amid cold’s cruel clasp. From NCR’s nip to Bihar’s bite, the mandate marries safety with study, a seasonal shield for the nation’s young.