Time to shift focus from vacations to equipping schools with basic infrastructure

Over the past few weeks, the demand for summer vacations here has been rising significantly. Schools in Kashmir recently reopened after a 10-day summer vacation, but due to the ongoing heat wave, some stakeholders are now demanding another round of summer vacations. They argue that students are unable to cope with the heat wave.

As there has been no relief from the heat wave in Kashmir, the School Education Department recently ordered a change in the school timings, now operating from 8am to 1pm.

However, not all stakeholders are happy with this decision, as they believe that early morning school hours disrupt the sleeping cycle of young children. They argue that children neither sleep well at home nor study effectively at school.

Some stakeholders insist that the only solution to escape the heat wave is to announce another summer vacation for schools.

While stakeholders advocate for closing schools again, officials have firmly rejected this demand. They argue that schools cannot be closed every time temperatures rise. Officials also mentioned that similar demands arise during winter when cold weather prompts calling for school closures.

Recently, Principal Secretary of the School Education Department (SED), Alok Kumar, stated that closing schools to avoid heat waves or cold weather conditions is not a solution. He emphasized that if such demands are repeatedly met, it would become exceedingly difficult to manage the school system. He mentioned that schools operate on a fixed calendar, during which students must receive their education. He, however, noted that if any student feels discomfort due to the heat wave, the department or concerned schools will not strictly enforce attendance for a few days.

Now coming to the point. The demand for another summer vacation arises from some quarters because the infrastructure in many schools is inadequate. Our schools lack proper facilities to provide a comfortable environment for students in extreme hot or cold weather conditions.

The parents of students in private schools are more vocal in demanding another summer vacation, claiming that their children are affected by the heat wave. However, no one is underlining the importance of infrastructure in these schools. In case these schools have the required funds, as they charge annual fee, why shouldn't they provide the facilities? And in case these schools are struggling in terms of finances why shouldn't they be allowed to include these provisons in the annual charges? In both the case the relevant governemnt officials should take a call and ensure that facilities are put in place for the students.  Due to this reason, parents are compelled to bring their demand to the government to close schools because of inadequate facilities. In Kashmir, there are over 3,000 private schools, but only a few have fans or ACs in classrooms. This is why parents are demanding school closures.

Regarding government schools, when Principal Secretary Alok Kumar was asked about the facilities in these schools, he admitted that while government schools have not reached the level of installing ACs, they do provide drinking water facilities and shades. He also added that the department will gradually work towards providing such amenities in schools.

Bringing water bottles from home or providing water at school is not a solution to the heat wave. If the department genuinely aims to meet the target of working days as per the academic calendar, it must ensure that basic facilities are available in government schools to accommodate students in all weather conditions.

It is a well known fact that the School Education department does not have any dearth of funds be it the money released under Samagra Shiksha or state share and district capex budget but the problem is with the utilisation of the funds available with the department.

In addition to the funds sanctioned by the Ministry of Education (MoE) Government of India to strengthen the infrastructural standards in schools, these institutions also receive annual grants for maintenance and facelift. These funds can also be used to install fans and coolers in the schools in a phased manner. The department should supervise proper utilization of these funds. Moreover, Deputy Commissioners can play a crucial role by allocating a suitable amount from the district budget to ensure schools have basic facilities like fans or coolers in summer and heating gadgets in winter. This will make schools feasible for students in all weather conditions.

At present, closing schools may seem a solution to avoid heat wave but what if the weather condition in coming years remains be the same; should we order closure of schools that time as well? The answer is No. because one fine morning we have to adapt ourselves to the prevailing weather conditions and prepare our kids as well.

But only preparing our kids is not the solution; side by side we have to make our educational institutions in government as well as private sector fully equipped with the basic facilities to combat the heat wave or the cold wave.

All stakeholders, be it parents or teachers, and most importantly the concerned authorities, besides the academicians should join hands to make our education system better and all weather feasible. Because together we can make it happen.