Kids face brutal heatas schools reopen

Patna: Some of the schools in the city reopened on Monday after extended summer vacation, exposing children to the torment of heatwave that has been prevailing here for a long time.
The children walked to their schools by covering themselves properly to ensure they did not get heat exposure. As some children fell ill, parents demanded that the district administration should have considered further extending the vacation, given the severe weather condition.
Patna’s Monday highest temperature was 41.1°C, which was around 6 notches above the normal.
A parent, whose daughter studies in class 8th of a premier school of the state capital, said that it would have been better if the schools reopened after a couple of days when the weather improved, as the current weather was not conducive for the schoolchildren. “My daughter said that a few of her classmates fell sick and started vomiting in the school premises, owing to extreme heat conditions. It would have been better if the schools reopened after a couple of days,” he said.
Another Dariyapur resident, whose son studies in a reputed school near Gandhi Maidan, said, “Almost all the houses have ACs these days, while the schools do not have such facilities. My son informed me that several of her schoolmates fell ill because of the heat.” She urged the district administration to instruct the school administration to start online cases till the weather condition improved.
Kailash Chandra, academic head of Christ Church School, agreed that the weather condition was adverse for the children, and the district administration should consider ordering online classes or reducing the timing of the schools.
However, a teacher from another premier school of the state capital said that children of her school were very happy after meeting each other after the long summer vacation. “The weather conditions are usually harsh before the arrival of monsoon, so there is nothing unusual about it,” she said.
Another parent, Khalid Rashid, whose daughter studies in Class 5 in the Christ Church School, said he was happy that his child’s classes did not start on Monday, as the school reopened only for the Class 9 and 10 students. “My daughter has to attend the classes from Tuesday, and I am apprehensive about how she will cope with the heatwave conditions,” said Rashid, adding, the administration should consider ordering suspension of the classes for a few more days.
The district administration officials said that no decision of closure of schools has been taken.
They were of the view that the decisions of closures are taken only after getting feedback from all the relevant stakeholders, including parents, weather office, media as well as school authorities and the education department.