Parents upset as schools closed without prior notice

Islamabad/Rawalpindi

Parents were caught unawares on Tuesday morning by the sudden closure of schools in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

To their utter shock and anxiety, they’re turned away by guards as soon as they took children to their respective schools.

Though no reason was cited immediately for the schools’ closure prompting most parents to link the move to the possibility of terrorist threats especially in light of the recent Charsadda university attack, the administrations attributed it to the severe foggy conditions afterwards.

Most schools later informed parents by email or over the telephone about the closure of classes for Montessori and first grade students until the end of the month insisting the intense fog could adversely affect their health.

They will reopen campuses on January 1.

The development coincided with the Punjab government’s last night announcement for the closure of schools and colleges, both government and private, in the province for the same reason.

However, some parents criticised the schools for not informing them about the closure on time and thus, stressing them and their children out in the morning.

Meanwhile, tThe extreme cold weather prevailing in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad compelled Punjab Government to issue a late night notification to immediately close down the public and private schools here till January 31, 2016.

This late night decision created a big confusion for the parents who had already gone to drop their children to school and were then notified by the school administration that the schools have been closed on the orders of the government. The attendance in the schools is already low due the chilly weather and many children are falling ill because of the sudden drop in mercury.

The severe wave of cold coupled with the fog and chilly winds made the conditions worse and most of the people stayed indoors on weekends to avoid the cold weather conditions. The condition worsened because of the unavailability of the gas pressure in the twin cities. Many cases of flue and cough have already been reported in all the public and private hospitals.

The dense fog that disrupted daily life in Rawalpindi and Islamabad will finally come to an end on Tuesday night. This was stated by Director General Pakistan Meteorological Department Dr. Ghulam Rasul while talking to 'The News' here on Tuesday. He said that this weather is paving the way for a rain spell on Baluchistan, KPK, Punjab and upper Sindh from January 28. Unfortunately, Thar that is already under the dry spell will not receive any rain yet.

Dr. Ghulam Rasul said that in the month of February, there would be three to four good spells of rain. Pakistan has suffered a lot because of this El Nino effect that started from last spring and matured in summer with the monsoons. Normally the monsoons start from July to September, but because of El Nino effect the rainfall occurred in July and August and September remained dry. The winter has been pushed to early March because of the same effect.

We are expecting heavy snowfall from Jan 28 till 30th in Naran, Kaghan, Chitral and Gulliyat.

The DG said that El Nino is at its peak now and it will decline with the passage of the days and eventually it will return to its neutral condition in April. Keeping in mind the global weather conditions, he said that 2016 might become the hottest year ever recorded in the history, instead of 2015.