Sweltering heat triggers demand for further curtailment in school hours

Srinagar, Jun 13: The voices are growing louder across the Valley with stakeholders demanding further curtailment in the school hours, amid the prevailing intense heat wave across Jammu and Kashmir.

The teachers and parents said that the further curtailment in the school hours will shield students from extreme weather conditions, at least while travelling back to their homes after school.

The demand comes days after the minister for education Sakina Itoo said the School Education Department (SED) was watching the situation and they will announce early summer vacations if the heat wave persists. The stakeholders including parents and the teachers said the department should take the decision in larger interests of the students. "The situation needs a more pragmatic approach that prioritizes student health over routine schedules. It would be better to curtail the school hours instead of announcing early summer vacations," said a school teacher. The teachers said that reducing school hours further will be a more balanced and effective response to the heat wave.

"Announcing summer vacation is not a solution, as we cannot predict the weather conditions in the coming months. We should understand that the idea is not to close down the schools but to minimise the exposure of students to scorching heat, particularly during peak hours," said Javid Ahmad Bhat, a parent. He said the school timings should be changed from 8 am to 12 pm. The  parents said the students have to travel long distances while travelling back home and the situation becomes dangerous, particularly for the young children.

As already reported, the SED issued an advisory to schools in order to protect the students from direct exposure to the sun. However, the stakeholders argue that the present condition of the government schools does not meet the criteria for following the guidelines.

“In most of the schools, classrooms are congested and poorly ventilated. There is no provision for fans or cold drinking water. Under such circumstances, cutting down school hours would provide immediate relief to students and staff as well," said Touseef Ahmad Mir, a parent from Baramulla. At present the timing for schools falling under Municipal limits of Srinagar has been fixed from 8:30am to 2:30 while for schools falling outside Srinagar Municipal limits and other districts has been fixed as 9am to 3pm. However, the demand is growing for having uniform school timing from 8am to 1pm in schools across Valley. "Usually one class is allotted around 35 to 40 minutes but considering the prevailing heat wave, the duration of a class can be curtailed to 30 minutes only. It will provide a relief to the students," said Mubashir Ahmad, a high school teacher from Kupwara. "If schools function from 8am to 1pm, then students can directly go home without taking a lunch break at school," he said. Amid the demands for further curtailment in school hours, all eyes are on the government to work out a student friendly decision in view of the heat wave.