Start schools late due to temp dip, urge parents

Ludhiana: With winter coming in and temperature dipping to 22 degrees Celsius in Ludhiana, parents are now demanding that pre-primary and primary schools start from 9am as it’s usually chilly in the mornings.
A man whose kid studies at a pre-primary school said, “The school starts at 7.50am, so I have to leave at 7.20am to drop my daughter. It’s very cold in the morning for such a small kid who can fall ill, as well. Her school should instead start at 9am.”
He added he had also requested the school authorities to change the timings, but the school told him that would only be done if ordered by the government.
Principals of city schools also maintained that timings could only be delayed further if ordered by the government.
Anuja Kaushal, principal of BCM Arya School, Shastri Nagar said, “Our school commences at 8.40am. Commencing school at a particular time is the school’s choice, where several factors are considered like availability of transportation system and weather conditions.”
Talking about other factors affecting the timings of school, the principal of a school situated at Dugri said, “Most of the parents are working and are comfortable with the school commencing at 8am as there is no change in office timings for them even in the winters. While changing the schedule, we have to ensure that the child studies for at least 6 hours and takes meals on time.”
He further added that starting schools late could keep the students busy thorughout the day.
“Besides, the child should also have sufficient time for co-curricular activities and self-study. Thus, we start at 7.55am and end school at 1.30pm for pre-primary classes,” the principal said.
However, in government schools, the timings are different. Jaswinder Singh Virk, deputy district education officer (elementary) said, “The timings for government and aided schools are from 9am to 2pm. This notification is sent to private schools, but it’s not fully applicable to them as the school management and principals have to decide about timings. However, if the weather gets unfavourable, then the deputy commissioner and state government can order for the same.”