Delhi heatwave: Schools advance summer vacations

On Sunday, all 11 weather stations in Delhi recorded maximum temperatures above 45°C, while Mungeshpur and Najafgarh (in south-east Delhi) recorded temperatures above 49°C.

With the heatwave tightening its grip on the national capital and weather stations across the city recording maximum temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius (°C) on Sunday, a majority of private schools in Delhi have already commenced their summer vacations while others have switched to online classes till they break for vacations later this week.

Officials of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said heatwave conditions are likely to be declared over the Capital, with a ‘yellow’ alert in place for Friday and Saturday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

On Sunday, all 11 weather stations in Delhi recorded maximum temperatures above 45°C, while Mungeshpur and Najafgarh (in south-east Delhi) recorded temperatures above 49°C. The soaring mercury has parents worried about the well-being of -children, prompting several schools to advance their summer vacation by a few days, particularly for children in the primary classes.

Jyoti Arora, principal of Mount Abu Public School in Rohini, said their vacation was slated to begin on May 21 (Saturday), but in view of the heat, the summer vacation was declared for students from nursery to class from Sunday (May 15) itself. Students in classes 4 and 5 will have online classes till Friday (May 20) after which the vacations will commence, she said.

“After deliberations, we went ahead and declared vacations for children in primary classes on account of the heat. For children in classes 6 to 9, we need to hold an investiture ceremony on Thursday, after which they,too, will proceed on their summer break,” Arora said. The school is planning to reduce the timings of daily classes by an hour soon for senior students, she added.

Tania Joshi, principal of The Indian School, said the school was planning to start the vacation from May 18 (Wednesday) for children of primary classes, instead of May 22 (Sunday). While the school will hold extra classes for students in the senior grades, the duration of these classes will be two hours. “Parents have been complaining about the heat after Sunday’s reading of 49.2°C, but the attendance has not suffered because of it,” said Joshi.

Sudha Acharya, the chairperson of the National Progressive Schools’ Conference (NPSC) and principal of ITL Public School, Dwarka, said the school will decide on advancing the summer break on Tuesday.

Government school teachers have also sought a suspension of activity in schools on account of the heat, even their summer vacation began on May 11 and will continue till June 27. But during these months, schools was planning to hold teaching-learning activities and catch-up classes, as part of summer camps, for students of classes 3-9 till June 15.

Ajay Veer Singh, general secretary of Government School Teachers’ Association (GSTA), said with the temperature touching 49°C in some parts of Delhi on Sunday, closure of schools was needed. “In such a situation, students’ education should not be considered more important than their life. The government should close all schools with immediate effect,” said Singh.

He added that the attendance of students was also decreasing since families have started leaving for their home towns to escape the heat.

Parent groups in the capital also reiterated their demand for early closure of schools in view of the unrelenting heat. Aprajita Gautam, president, Delhi Parents Association, said the body had written to the chief minister, lieutenant governor, and other stakeholders on Monday calling for an immediate suspension of school activities.

“Summer vacations in schools should be declared immediately without delay in view of the deadly heat in Delhi. Many children are falling ill due to the extreme heat...and the attendance rate in schools is falling continuously,” Gautam’s letter said.