Parents want early summer vacation

Islamabad : Not satisfied with the Federal Government's decision of reducing school timings in Islamabad, the parents of students have demanded immediate start of summer vacation due to severe

hot weather.

The Federal Government came into action and announced a reduction in schools timing from five and half hours to four hours starting from 7 am, after 25 students of a school in Malpur suffered heatstroke on Wednesday and were taken to a hospital. “Still it was very hot and mercury was touching 40 degrees Celsius at 11 am when schools were closed on Thursday,” Abdul Bari, the father of a student said. He felt that summer vacation should start after giving homework to students. “Will the Government take a decision when another incident happens," he questioned.

The government had already announced that board examinations would be held in elective subjects after the month of July. The students from Grade One to Four, Six, and Seven have been promoted to next Grades.

The parents feel that if it was so necessary, the government and private schools can be allowed to conduct periods of board classes with reduced timings. There is an impression that private schools are pressurizing the government not to allow summer vacation to justify the collection of fees of three to four months amid severe heat.

The private schools are also holding Prep and Nursery classes forcing children under 5 to come to schools. “This is the height of nonsense subjecting innocent children to scorching heat," the father of a minor child said.

The schools in a number of areas of Islamabad and elsewhere in Rawalpindi and Punjab are also facing frequent power outages and a shortage of clean drinking water where in many cases the fans also do not work in the classrooms forcing children to sit in extremely hot weather.

APP adds: A large number of parents have demanded of the authorities concerned to announce summer vacation for the students of the educational institutions in Islamabad Capital Territory especially in early years whose health is at risk due to the sizzling heat outside and prolonged exposure to high temperatures within the classrooms, lacking facility of cooling and clean drinking water.

It has been observed that several students have lost consciousness in different schools of Islamabad while many were unable to attend schools due to the unbearable heat.

Many of the small kids feel the heat and vomit in their classrooms and parents are asked to rush to school and take their kids to a medical facility for first-aid.