Heatwave: Delhi parents demand changed school timings, advanced summer breaks

Several states, including Delhi's neighbours Haryana and Punjab, have either changed school timings or announced early summer vacations, to protect children from the unrelenting heatwave.

Parents of children studying in Delhi schools have requested the government to either revise timings of educational institutions or advance summer breaks in view of the brutal heatwave and high daily temperatures, news agency PTI reported on Tuesday. Many schools in the national capital have already cut down outdoor activities due to the weather conditions as well as the spike in number of Covid-19 cases. However, parents alleged that school timings are not feasible for students to step out of their homes in the extreme heat.

The Delhi government has not yet announced any measure pertaining to school timings or summer breaks in view of the heatwave. (HT Archive)

The president of the Delhi Parents Association, Aparajitha Gautam told PTI that students reach home by 3pm after school hours, which means they are out in the sun in peak temperatures. “We request Delhi government to either revise the school timings like other states are doing or pre-pone summer holidays,” Gautam was quoted as saying in the report.

Last week, the Centre issued a health advisory that comprised do's and don'ts for the public. It also urged states and union territories (UTs) to review their health preparedness for availability of ample quantities of essential medicines and necessary equipment while ensuring enough drinking water and continued functioning of cooling appliances in critical areas.

On Monday, Haryana's education minister Kanwar Pal Gujjar took to Twitter to announce that starting May 4, all private and government schools in the northern state would operate between 7am and 12pm. According to the statement he shared on the social media site, the decision was made keeping the students' health amid the scorching heat in mind.

Meanwhile, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said on Friday that all schools in the border state will observe summer breaks early starting May 14. He added that the move was made after suggestions had come from “thousands of parents and teachers” due to the heatwave conditions.

Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal, among others, have also taken steps to tweak school timings or summer holidays due to the extreme heat.

However, no such measure has been announced in Delhi yet.

Delhi on Tuesday recorded a maximum temperature of 40.8 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal, according to data shared by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).

The Met department has predicted that heatwave conditions over north, northwest and central India will begin to abate from today onwards, with a western disturbance likely to cause isolated light rainfall with dust storm, thunderstorm and gusty winds of 40-50kmph over Delhi till May 5.

(With inputs from agencies)