The National Institute of Technology Srinagar closed for winter vacation on Thursday -- 10 days ahead of schedule -- as a precautionary measure, a day after protests against a student's social media post spread to other institutes.
The Islamia College of Science and Commerce suspended all classwork and internal examinations scheduled for the day.
While NIT Srinagar declared a holiday for Thursday, the dean of students welfare issued a circular announcing winter vacation in the engineering institute from Thursday.
The circular also directed all students living in the hostels to vacate the boarding facility with immediate effect.
Non-local students left the institute in the afternoon in a convoy of 15 vehicles under security escort to Jammu for onward journey to their respective home states, officials said.
The registrar of the institute said the winter vacations "have been preponed only by 10 days" and there will be no academic loss for the students.
"We have winter vacations every year and the same is the case this year also. The vacations were scheduled from December 9 but have been preponed," registrar Ateekur Rehman said. -- PTI