PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
With the Dehradun district administration ordering closure of all schools in the district considering the considerable rise in maximum temperatures forecast on Monday, the provisional State capital witnessed a school holiday due to heat in the month of April for the first time in history. Parents and teachers here opined that school closures due to climatic factors are becoming common and the repeated breaks are starting to affect students’ studies.
Schools already follow a set calendar with summer, winter and festival holidays, but parents feel these additional weather-related closures are eating into valuable classroom time. “We understand that safety is important, but closing schools so often isn’t ideal,” mother of a school child, Priyanka Bartwal said. She suggested that schools could switch to online classes on such days to prevent studies from coming to a complete halt.
Many parents say that the stop-start routine is hard for children to manage. Neelam Chauhan said that it becomes difficult for students to stay consistent. “Every time schools close, it breaks their rhythm,” she said. “The concern is even bigger for board students. They are already under pressure and these disruptions only add to it,” said a student’s parent Komal Kumari.
Students also have mixed feelings. While they are relieved to avoid stepping out in the heat, they admit that online classes are not always effective. “It’s hard to concentrate at home, but going to school in such weather is also tough,” said Deepika Bhandari, who is preparing for her class XII board exams this year.
Teachers say that they are trying to cope, but frequent changes make planning difficult. “We end up rushing through the syllabus to stay on track,” said teacher Babita Kumari, adding that schools follow government orders on closures. Another teacher Radhika Thapa said that while online classes help to some extent, they cannot fully replace classroom learning. “There are distractions at home and not all students engage properly,” she said.
