Summary
South City International School, South Point School and Mahadevi Birla World Academy shift to online classes for the time being
St. Vincent High and Technical School Asansol and Griffins International School Kharagpur start and close early
Several schools in Kolkata are reverting to online classes, this time because of the intense heatwave that West Bengal has been reeling under. Many other schools have tweaked class hours to ensure some respite from the scorching sun for students.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said heatwave conditions will prevail in Bengal till April 30.
https://twitter.com/Indiametdept/status/1519213860687060992
Most schools have taken measures to ensure relief for their students while some are awaiting government directives.
West Bengal chief minister is conducting a meeting with high-level officials on April 27 to decide about change of school timings. The government may also declare an early summer vacation.
South City International School, Kolkata, wrapped up classes by 11.30 am, instead of 2.30pm on April 26 and 27. The school will be holding classes online on April 28 and 29. “We received the heatwave notification and decided to immediately act upon it. We decided today to hold online classes for the rest of the week. We have sent a notification to students and parents,” said John Bagul, founder principal of South City International School.
At Birla High School for Boys, many classes had already gone online to accommodate board examinees. “We have AC classrooms and many classes are already online as we are a board exam centre,” said Loveleen Saigal, the principal of Birla High School for Boys.
South Point School and Mahadevi Birla World Academy have also shifted to online classes till the heatwave subsides. Mahadevi Birla World Academy principal Anjana Saha said students of all classes have been asked to attend online classes at least till May 2. Parents of South Point School students have received a notice regarding the commencement of online classes till April 29.
Schools in other districts of West Bengal are also considering morning classes and online classes.
“We have reduced our working hours and shifted to morning school timings since school reopened after the Easter vacation. School gets over in a staggered manner, between 10.45am and 11.45am for different classes. We are contemplating reducing this by 30 minutes for the junior school. Online classes are still not on the cards but the possibility cannot be ruled out,” said Ravi Victor, principal, St. Vincent High and Technical School, Asansol.
“Griffins International School has curtailed school hours. Instead of our regular timings of 8am to 2pm, we are holding classes from 7.30am to 10.50am till the summer break. We may bring forward the summer break by a week and close on May 8 instead of May 15,” said Abhishek Kumar Yadav, academic director and acting principal, Griffins International School, Kharagpur.
Class X and XII students, however, have little respite as ICSE, ISC and CBSE examinations are being held offline.
Last updated on 27 Apr 2022
