Education minister Partha Chatterjee on Tuesday warned private schools that they could have their 'no-objection certificates' revoked for suspending classes or any scheduled examination during the 12-hour Bengal bandh called by the BJP from 6am on Wednesday.

Chatterjee said the government would 'review' the noobjection certificates and probably 'even cancel them' if schools did not heed the appeal to remain open during the BJP-called bandh.

'If they stay shut despite our appeal, we will cancel their NOCs,' the minister told Metro.

Several of the schools that have announced a holiday because of the bandh or have postponed examinations are affiliated to the CBSE, which functions under the Union ministry of human resource development.

But Chatterjee said all schools, 'irrespective of their boards', had been informed that the state government would provide 'all support' for them to remain open.

'I am surprised that some schools will be shut tomorrow. Some others are open but they have suspended their exams. This is not acceptable. They (the schools) could have consulted us before announcing the closure or suspension of the exams,' the minister said.

He iterated his appeal to educational institutions to remain open and said he had repeatedly urged them over the past few days that there should not be any disruption in academic activities because of the bandh.

'I had made it clear over the past three days that each and every educational institution, government-aided and private, should function as usual and there should not be any disruption on Wednesday,' Chatterjee said.

Hours later, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) forwarded to all ICSE/ISC schools the state government's circular asking for all institutions to be kept open.

Gerry Arathoon, the chief executive of the council, said the commissioner of school ed- ucation had sent the circular to him in the evening. 'It was a one-line note that asked me to circulate it among all schools. I have done that,' Arathoon told Metro.

Sources in the government said the same note had also been sent to the CBSE.

An official of a CBSE school that has postponed an examination scheduled for Wednesday said the institution was worried about 'pres- sure from the board later'. He declined to elaborate.

Minister Chatterjee said: 'They (the CBSE schools) must understand that their institutions are not located in Delhi. We expect them to hon- our our appeal and keep the institutions open tomorrow.' At the city police headquarters in Lalbazar, a senior officer said the department had been asked by the government to make all arrangements to respond to a request for assistance from any school during the bandh. 'We will provide police protection to the institutions that seek help from us to stay open.' An official of a CBSE school that has announced it will be shut on Wednesday said the decision had been taken 'because a large number of our students come from faraway places and school buses are required to pass through areas that are trouble-prone'.

Mahadevi Birla World Academy said it would arrange extra classes later to compensate for the loss of a day. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Salt Lake cited 'routine maintenance' for the unscheduled holiday. It said this was decided last week.

Akshar, which is affiliated to the CICSE, has also declared a holiday.

Heads of several schools said they weren't sure the state government was empowered to 'cancel' or 'withdraw' their NOCs for not holding classes on a particular day.

An NOC can be withdrawn if a school consistently fails to pay salaries to its teachers on time, for defaulting on provident fund contributions and failure to ensure fire safety or security in accordance with government norms.

There is no mention in the rules of any provision empowering the government to cancel an NOC if a school does not comply with an appeal to keep the institution open during a political bandh.

Additional reporting by Jhinuk Mazumdar and Monalisa Chaudhuri What: 12-hour bandh called by BJP When: From 6am to 6pm School roster CLOSED Pre-primary section of Delhi Public School Ruby Park Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (closed because of 'routine maintenance') Akshar (will work on an off day) Mahadevi Birla World Academy (will work on an off day) OPEN BUT EXAMS RESCHEDULED Ashok Hall Girls' Higher Secondary School GD Birla Centre for Education Mahadevi Birla Shishu Vihar Birla High School Delhi Public School Ruby Park OPEN AND EXAMS AS SCHEDULED La Martiniere for Girls (Students will be allowed to leave after the exams) La Martiniere for Boys (Students will be allowed to leave after the exams) Newtown School (practicals) OPEN BUT PARENTS' DISCRETION St James' School South Point Birla High School Sushila Birla Girls' School Delhi Public School New Town OPEN Modern High St Xavier's Collegiate School The Heritage School Don Bosco Park Circus Calcutta Girls' Apeejay Schools in Park Street and Salt Lake MP Birla Foundation Higher Secondary School South City International School Sri Sri Academy Lakshmipat Singhania Academy The Future Foundation School What's on, what's off Emergency services: On Transport Metro: Normal service promised by authorities Suburban and long-distance trains: Normal services promised Bus: There will be 2,600 government buses, 450 more than the usual daily count of 2,150. The government has assured private operators that in case of any damage to their vehicles, the administration will ensure that the insurance claims are settled. Ferry service: Besides buses and trams, arrangements have been made for around 50-60 vessels to ply across ghats and ensure that commuters don't face any problem. Transport department officials in the districts have been asked to monitor the situation through the control room from 4 am, sources said. App cabs: There will be enough cabs on the road. But their availability will decline if there is violence, operators said.

Helplines 100 (emergency helpline) and 2214 3230 (Lal Bazar control room) Police arrangement From 5am, adequate number of policemen will be deployed across the city to ensure smooth traffic. Radio flying squads will patrol the city Rallies Both BJP and Trinamul are expected to bring out several rallies across the city in support of and protesting against the bandh Education All government schools across the city are expected to remain open At Calcutta University, exams in law, BTech and MSc will be held as scheduled At Jadavpur University, BA and MA exams will be held on as scheduled.