Kashmir’s school bells ring again after summer pause

Srinagar, July 18: All schools in Kashmir division opened on Thursday after a 10-day summer break.

Schools in Srinagar and other districts were abuzz with students after the summer vacation.

Earlier this month, the Directorate of School Education (DSEK) announced summer vacation for all schools in Kashmir from July 8 to 17 amid the soaring temperatures.

As there was no major respite in the scorching heat, the schools across Kashmir opened, and roads witnessed school buses ferrying students donning colourful uniforms.

Young school-going students were seen greeting their fellow students and teachers as they entered the schools after a gap of 10 days.

“Although we enjoyed the break, it was great to meet our fellow students and teachers after a brief gap. There is no respite from the heat despite today being cloudy, but since the summer vacation was not extended, we are here to join the schools,” a group of students at Lal Chowk said.

Earlier on Tuesday, the School Education Department (SED) issued an advisory ahead of the reopening of the schools.

The SED had asked all the heads of the institutions to take the necessary measures before the commencement of the teaching-learning process in the schools.

The school heads were advised to pay special attention towards clean toilets while ensuring these are hygienic and well-maintained for the use of students.

Parents were seen accompanying their wards and waiting for pick-up and drop-off across Kashmir. Earlier, the parents said that with no respite in the scorching heat, summer vacation should be extended.

“Now that schools have been opened and summer break has not been extended, we hope that all the school administrations will ensure that students have all the facilities they need amid hot summers,” said Kaiser Amad, a parent.

Meanwhile, with the influx of school buses, the roads in Srinagar city and other towns in Kashmir were abuzz with additional traffic.

The commuters said that given the reopening of schools, Traffic Police should ensure to streamline the traffic accordingly.

They said many areas faced traffic jams following the huge influx of traffic.

A senior Traffic Police official said that given the opening of schools, they have pressed more men to manage the traffic, particularly in Srinagar city, which witnesses huge traffic jams.

“The first day went better in the context of traffic. Since the schools are open now, we will manage the traffic accordingly so that commuters and students don’t suffer,” he said.