Even as the Mumbai civic administration decided not to shut down educational institutions in the city, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) ordered a five-day closure of all schools under it, an official said.

While Municipal Commissioner Jairaj Phatak said 'the current situation does not warrant steps like Pune' to shut down schools and malls, the civic administration was taking a poll of people over this issue.

'After two days, all educational institutions are getting a three-day break. Moreover, there's no guarantee that swine flu will disappear after a few days just as it had come,' Phatak said.

Phatak pointed that even many school principals who interacted with him expressed reservations on shutting educational institutions in the city.

But senior TMC official R.D. Kendre said the civic body's education department had issued orders to shut down civic schools - as opposed to private schools - in its jurisdiction till Sunday as a precautionary measure in view of the swine flu epidemic.

In Mumbai, some private schools, including the prestigious Cambridge School in Kandivli suburb, issued advisories to parents on the dos and don'ts, precautions in school and outside. It has also permitted students to wear masks to school if they want.