Low temperature in Delhi gives school kids a longer holiday

The Delhi government on Wednesday ordered the closure of all schools till January 10, keeping in mind the cold wave sweeping north India.

“ The mandatory order applies to both government and private schools. The government will examine the situation at the end of this week. For now, the schools have to remain closed till January 10,” Delhi education minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said.

Some city schools had reopened this week. And now that the new order has come, the school authorities are worried about the completion of the syllabi. The closure order is not just in the Capital. Schools in most of the NCR region, as well as in most northern states battling the extreme cold, have been asked to extend the winter vacation.

Gurgaon deputy commissioner Rajender Kataria said on Wednesday that all schools in the district will remain closed from January 7- 15. He said that under the Haryana School Education Rules of 2003, it is mandatory for private schools to follow the instructions and those who won’t comply will face legal action. Schools in Noida have also been shut — till January 9 — “ in the wake of the sudden drop in temperature”. The Ghaziabad district administration, however, seems unfazed by the chill as it has decided to keep the schools open.

“ We are assessing the situation on a day- today basis. The weather on Wednesday morning was better and hence we decided to keep the schools open,” DM Hridesh Kumar said, while the parents and children grumbled.

He added: “ We are getting requests from parents to close the schools but no decision has been taken yet. Last year, we had closed the schools early and the cold intensified so we had to close them for an entire month. That resulted in a loss of studies.” In Delhi, sources in the education department said the maximum problem because of the cold was being faced by young students in MCD schools.

“ The worst effect of this cold season has been seen in MCD schools, which cater to very young children coming from notso- affluent backgrounds,” a department officer said. Senior officials acknowledged that there would be too many holidays but hoped that the school’s syllabi will be finished with the help of “ minor adjustments and alterations” to the timetable. Most school authorities are unhappy with the closure order because of this very reason.

“ The government should think about the studies of children as well. Schools were closed for 15 days during the Commonwealth Games.

If they are closed for another week, studies will be badly affected. The hue and cry by some parents has led to such orders by the government,” said R. C. Jain, president, Delhi State Public School Management Association. Premlata Garg, principal of DAV Public School, echoed the sentiment. “ We adjusted the Games holidays with the Dussehra holidays.

We also cut down some routine holidays so that the course could be completed on time. The government can think of some other way to save the children from cold,” she said, adding that the extra holidays were fine for the primary school because “ the children are sensitive and there is no major problem in coping with the course. But the major problem is with Class IX and X students who have to appear for the boards”. There were, however, a few schools that welcomed the move. Ameeta M. Wattal, Springdales School principal, said: “ The school was opened today but, after the government’s directions, there will be holidays from tomorrow.

The children’s health should be top priority. We will not let their studies suffer as we will shorten the summer vacations.” At least three cold- related deaths have been reported in Delhi since December 26. The minimum temperature had dropped to 3.7 degree Celsius on Tuesday, while the maximum plunged to 12.7 degree Celsius, making it the coldest day of the season so far. Wednesday was equally bad. According to the Met department, the cold wave is expected to continue.