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The Odisha government has announced closure of all schools in the state for five days, from April 26 to April 30, due to the intense heatwave that is currently sweeping the state, local media has reported. “In view of the heatwave situation, the government, after careful consideration, have been pleased to suspend the classes of all government, government-aided and private education institutes,” the School and Mass Education (S&ME) department said in a letter on Monday.
However, the letter, signed by Dr Pratap Kumar Mishra, additional chief secretary to the Odisha government, also noted that examinations which had already been scheduled by the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) and Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) will continue as usual, media reports said.
On April 16, the Odisha government announced that summer vacations have been curtailed to just 11 days, from June 6 to 16, instead of the 40 days given earlier, to make up for the academic loss, as schools have just restarted properly after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. To ensure that classes continue despite the heatwave, the state government announced that from May 1, when the new academic session will commence, classes will be held from 6am to 9am till June 5, the last day before the summer break.
Also Read | Concerned over learning loss, Odisha curtails summer vacation for schools
Heatwave in Odisha
The education department’s order came a day after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a ‘yellow alert’ for some districts in western Odisha for the next four days, a Livemint report said. Such an alert denotes ‘tolerable’ heat, though with possible health concerns for vulnerable sections such as the elderly and the infants.
The IMD advised people to take precautionary measures while going outdoors, from 11am to 3pm, the report also said.
On Sunday, the maximum temperature in Bhubaneswar, the capital and largest city, was recorded at 43.3 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal, while the mercury in Cuttack, was at 41.1 degrees Celsius, three degrees above normal.
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