Parents demand that schools close earlier than 11 am.

<script async custom-element="amp-ad" src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0/amp-ad-0.1.js"></script>

<script async custom-element="amp-auto-ads"

        src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0/amp-auto-ads-0.1.js">

</script>

<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-4057852254071953"

     crossorigin="anonymous"></script>

Parents demand that schools close earlier than 11 am.

     In the wake of severe heatwave conditions prevailing across Indiana, the state government has announced school timing from 6.30 am to 11 am.

  However, parents expressed resentment over the timing and demanded that schools be closed earlier than 11 am when the sun is at its peak.

    "How can the government think of reopening the schools from Monday as the temperatures are still soaring? It is posing a serious health risk to children as well as parents who go to pick up the kids and get exposed to the heat," said S admits Sahu, a parent.

  A  Parents' association said when the government is advising labourers not to work at 11 am, how can children be allowed to return home when the sun is at its peak? 

    " Not all children are commuting in school buses. Apart from 1% to 2% of children in cities, most children in rural and interior areas walk or cycle to school. So it has become very necessary to revise the timings," said Basudev  Bhatt, chairman of Odisha Abhibhavak Mahasangh.

   

<amp-auto-ads type="AdSense"

        data-ad-client="ca-pub-4057852254071953">

</amp-auto-ads>

         After a brief summer break of five days from April  12 to 16, students returned to school on Monday. However, the attendance of children was thin in most schools on the first day. For instance, only four children were present in Class X at Government Nodal High School, Powerhouse Square.

   "Of the 20 kids I have in my Anganwadi, only one child has come," said Malati Pradhan, an Anganwadi supervisor in the city.

   

<amp-ad width="100vw" height="320"

     type="adsense"

     data-ad-client="ca-pub-4057852254071953"

     data-ad-slot="7021028676"

     data-auto-format="rspv"

     data-full-width="">

  <div overflow=""></div>

</amp-ad>

 The parents said that it is important to complete the syllabus on time, as children's health should not be put at risk."After returning from school, my child is feeling dehydrated and exhausted. I don't think he will be able to go to school tomorrow. When I went to pick him up from school, it felt like a fire raining from the sky. We are requesting the government to reconsider the school timings," said Manors Jam Swain, a parent.

    The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said Bhubaneswar recorded 31.6 degrees Celsius at 8.30 am on Monday which climbed to 39.9 degrees Celsius later in the day. Baripada recorded the highest temperature in the state at 44.6 degrees Celsius.

     " It is better to hold classes from 6 am to 9.30 am or 10 am maximum," said Brahmananda Mohapatra, president of the Primary School Teachers Association.