BENGALURU : Bengaluru’s decreasing temperatures and foggy mornings have resulted in a dip in attendance in schools. Students, especially those in pre-primary and primary schools, find it difficult to leave the house around 6:45am. “There is a drastic decline in attendance in our school. I am not sure if children are yet to return from vacation or if it’s because of the weather,” said Sunitha Rajesh, owner of Podar Jumbo School, JP Nagar. 

Though Bishop Cotton Girls’ School claim that there has been no issue with attendance, other schools in the city disagree. “We have noticed that children either end up coming late, miss their buses or they remain absent,” said a principal of a school in Rajajinagar.

Unhappy parents
Parents claim that they feel disturbed to wake their children up for school in this weather. “I end up scolding the child when she makes a big fuss to get up,” Samanvaya Rakesh, a parent of a nine-year-old. Unfortunately, some schools have exams scheduled right after vacations which has made the situation tougher for parents.

Swell in mood swings
Teachers of nursery and pre-nursery children claim that they have seen mood variations in students. “Managing the class in the first hour of school has become a daunting task, as we have to settle the children down,” said a teacher at Kumaran’s English School. Parents have also noticed that their children have been moody. “I am worried my child will miss his van, so I scream at him. Even after he comes back, he is angry due to lack of sleep,” said Shilpa Hari.

Sick and sniffling
Some parents claim that the early morning exposure to this weather has given rise to allergy cases. “My child went to school for just one day and he is down with fever and cold,” said Ranjini P.
“In the past three days, there has been an increase in the cases of viral infections. It could be due to travels or fall in temperature,” said Dr Gopi Krishna, paediatrician at Agrasena Hospitals.