Gurgaon: With the mercury rising, parents in the city have urged the district administration and education department officials to shut down private schools early for summer vacation. A number of city schools, including DPS Sushant Lok, DAV, Lotus Valley International, The Heritage, Kunsskapskolan, Vega, Gems International, Blue Bells Public, Shalom Hills International and Manav Rachna International are scheduled to close for summer by the last week of May.
While some schools are likely to shut early, a few though will be open till May-end. "The temperature is rising and by the weekend, it will be 46 degrees Celsius. Schools are still running in this intense heat. We request the schools to close, to give students some respite from the heat," said Tripti Singh, parent of a first grader from The Heritage School.
Some parents have suggested the schools alter their timings instead. "I feel schools should at least reduce their timings, if they are not ready to start summer vacations early.
The maximum temperature hovers at 44-46 degrees when the students are in transit," said Amit Wadhwa, whose children go to Ryan International School.
Since schools have to complete a mandatory 210 working days in a year, they cannot start summer vacations earlier than scheduled. They have to take into account winter vacations as well. In Delhi, the government has ordered schools to shut down. Here too, only the administration can offer relief to the students and parents.
When approached for comment, the district administration, said they have received suggestions from parents and are looking into the matter.
"I have got several suggestions from parents. While some are requesting a shut down of schools, other are okay with schools remaining open but starting early," said deputy commissioner T L Satyaprakash. He added that he will speak to the education department officials for a way forward.
"We have to complete a minimum number of days and besides we have already altered the school timings," said Col Pratap Singh, president, Haryana Progressive Schools Conference. He added students should learn to enjoy and endure all seasons.
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