Kamrup-M orders closure of govt schools till Jan 6 due to severe cold

Guwahati: Amid severe cold spells in Assam, with temperatures dropping significantly below normal over the past few days, education authorities on Tuesday announced the closure of all govt-run schools in Kamrup (Metro) district for one week, until Jan 6. However, private schools are free to decide on the advisory.Greater Guwahati falls under Kamrup (Metro) which has many leading private schools.The maximum temperature in Guwahati on Tuesday was 18.1 degrees Celsius, 6.4 degrees Celsius below normal.Kamrup (Metro) Inspector of Schools Dipika Choudhury issued an advisory to heads of govt and provincialised schools in the district on the temporary closure. “In view of the prevailing cold weather conditions in Kamrup (Metropolitan) district, and considering the health and safety of students, it has been decided to close all schools for a period of 1 week,” the advisory said. School heads were advised to ensure that no academic or co-curricular activities are conducted during the period. “Private schools are advised to decide for themselves in the interest of students,” the advisory stated. Most private schools are currently observing a brief winter break, and the advisory is expected to apply mainly to govt-run schools.Earlier on Tuesday, the Assam State Primary Teachers’ Association wrote to education minister Ranoj Pegu seeking an order to suspend primary school classes due to the temperature drop over the past week. In the letter signed by association president Nilakshi Gogoi and general secretary Ratul Chandra Goswami, the association said conditions were unbearable for primary school children. It said it had long demanded sweaters, shoes and socks for students, but the demands remained unfulfilled.“During a formal discussion with the education minister in 2021, an agreement was reached to provide these items to students, but it was not implemented yet,” Goswami said.The cold has led to fires being lit in a large number of govt schools in the state to conduct classes. “Many schools, including ours, could conduct the classes by lighting fire outside classrooms since the drop in temperature was intolerable for small kids in primary schools,” he added.