Let alone parents and students, the heads of schools are an anxious lot. Especially of those in rural areas.
Reason: The decision of the government to reopen schools under State board on June 3.
And it is not just the searing heat. “Ensuring availability of water is a challenge as two of the three borewells in our campus have dried up,” says the headmaster of a school located in a rural area.
A circular issued by the School Education department has instructed school heads to distribute free textbooks, notebooks and other materials to students in government schools.
The heads of schools are ready to distribute new textbooks under the revised curriculum. But there is a degree of uncertainty on one important factor.
“We are not sure about the attendance,” says another headmaster. “Ïndications are that parents are angry with the government for not taking into account the discomfort it will cause to students by reopening the schools on June 3.”
The government does not appear to have considered the plight of a good number of students who come cycling, or travel in crowded buses. The temperature in Tiruchi has not fallen below 105 degree, and the discomfort caused by perspiration is bound to disrupt their concentration in academics, he points out.
While there was speculation a week ago that the government might consider extending the date of reopening by a week, a senior official says any such postponement is unlikely.
In 2017, the government postponed the date of reopening by a few days due to summer heat. This time around, the “obstinacy of the School Education Ministry to stick to the date of reopening despite worse conditions is baffling,” says Muthuvel, a parent from Manapparai.