All schools across the country will remain closed today (27) as a precautionary measure in view of the prevailing adverse weather conditions, the Ministry of Education said. The Ministry said the decision had been taken to ensure the safety of students and school staff amid the current weather situation.

 The practical exams for the GCE O/L Aesthetic Subjects will be conducted as scheduled.

The island-wide closure follows an earlier move to empower Provincial Directors and Provincial Secretaries of Education to decide on the opening or closure of schools in their respective areas in response to the prevailing weather. The Ministry has reportedly issued the relevant instructions to provincial education authorities.

Accordingly, Central Province Governor Dr Harsha Suranga Fernando said that the operations of 26 schools in several educational zones in the Kandy and Nuwara Eliya Districts had been suspended.

The closure comes as Cyclone Arnab intensifies over the Bay of Bengal ahead of its expected landfall on India’s Andhra Pradesh coast tomorrow (28). Although the storm is not expected to directly affect Sri Lanka, officials have warned of rainfall of 100-150 millimetres in some areas over the coming days, along with strong winds of 40-50 kilometres per hour at times in several provinces.