New Delhi: Amidst the searing heatwave and the plausible health hazard associated with the same, the West Bengal government has asked all private schools to stop offline classes from May 7 and switch to online classes, a school education department official said on Friday, news agency PTI reported. Principal Secretary to the school education department, Manish Jain asked the schools to hold online classes if they do not wish to advance summer vacation time from May 2 as instructed in a department notice earlier.
"The private schools should not conduct in-person classes in school buildings now in the interest of students as they are falling sick in the extreme heat conditions. Also, they should not take any unilateral decision against the statement of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on this issue," the official quoted Jain as saying at a meeting with about 30 private schools' authorities in Kolkata.
CM Mamata Banerjee in the last week of April had asked schools to advance their summer break from May 2 to June 15 in the wake of heatwave conditions. The same request was made for the private schools, but a large number of private schools went ahead with the offline classes in accordance with the wish of a section of guardians.
Now, the instructions have been given again. Though the board examination of classes 10 and 12 will continue as scheduled, the official told PTI.
According to the PTI report, many of the private schools had decided to go ahead with the offline classes as the temperature came down in the last three days. However, the state-run or aided schools declared summer vacation from May 2 in line with the government notice.
"The students are wanting to attend classes physically after the pandemic-induced break of two years. We thought that as the temperature has cooled down a bit, we can carry on in this way. But from today there will be no offline classes as instructed by the government," a private school principal told PTI.