Bihar: Schools remain open at 47 degrees Celsius, students faint

By Chanshimla Varah

May 29, 2024

07:29 pm

What's the story

Numerous students reportedly fainted and felt unwell due to the soaring temperatures amid an extreme heatwave sweeping across Bihar. The mercury crossed the 42°C mark in 17 locations; despite these alarming conditions, schools continue to operate as usual. Government schools in the state were closed for the summer from April 15 to May 15, but have since reopened.

School crisis

Students collapse in heat, prompting emergency measures

In Sheikhpura district's government school, at least 16 girls collapsed due to the intense heat. The situation worsened when an ambulance was not available in time to transport them to the hospital. "We provided them with water and electrolytes and called for an ambulance. When it didn't arrive, we used private vehicles to take them to the hospital," said Prasad, headmaster of Mankaul Middle School. This led to protests by villagers who blocked the Sheikhpura-Sasbahna road.

Widespread impact

Heatwave crisis spreads to other schools in Bihar

Similar incidents were reported in Begusarai's Matihani middle school, where over a dozen students had to be rushed to the hospital after fainting on campus. Principal Chandrakant Singh stated that "the extreme heat caused the girls to faint. We gave them ORS and then rushed them to hospital." This is despite the school having power backup for fans. The heatwave also affected Jamui district, with students at several schools fainting due to the high temperatures.

Twitter Post

Visuals of students fainting

KK Pathak is a madman who's running the Bihar education department like a dictator.
Today again several students fainted due to heatwave conditions at a school and such news is coming from across Bihar.

Forget closing schools in such extreme weather, he's forcing students as… pic.twitter.com/j3Q65KCBOq
— Mr Sinha (Modi's family) (@MrSinha_) May 29, 2024

Political response

Political leaders call for action amid heatwave crisis

The state government's decision to open schools amid the ongoing heatwave has been met with strong disapproval from opposition parties. Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating, "Whatever needs to be done must be done. If necessary, the government should announce holidays." The Rastriya Janata Da also criticized the Nitish Kumar government over its handling of the crisis, calling out what it perceived as a lack of effective governance in Bihar.