The decision of the Jharkhand education department to continue school hours till 1pm even as the weather department issued heat wave alerts in several districts has evoked strong protest from teachers and parents.

“It is inhuman on the part of the education officials to ask schools to operate between 7am and 1pm. It has never happened before. Prior to the pandemic, the school timing during summer used to be between 6.30am and 11.30am. We have submitted a letter to the authorities on Saturday requesting for reconsideration of the timing,” said All Jharkhand Primary Teachers Association spokesperson Nasim Ahmed.

The Ranchi Met office on Friday had registered a maximum temperature of 43.4 degrees Celsius for Palamau, 40 degrees Celsius for Jamshedpur and 38 degrees for Ranchi.

Nearly 32 lakh students study in around 30,000 government schools (primary, middle and secondary level) in Jharkhand. “Most of the students in government schools are from economically poor backgrounds and suffer from malnutrition and the government officials want to expose them to heat stroke,” said Nasim.

Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC) project director Kiran Kumari Passi, in the notification on Friday, has asked the regional education joint director, district education officers and district superintendents of education to ensure that state-owned schools should function between 7am and 1pm from April 1, 2022 and June 30, 2022.

The letter also directs that from July onwards till March the school would function between 9am and 3pm.

Founder president of Jharkhand Abhibhavak Sangh (a parents’ outfit) Ajay Rai also criticised the government order.

“It seems the babus who sit in the AC chamber are not aware of the ground realities in which the government school students exist. It would be a torture for the students. We demand that the government revise the timing at the earliest,” said Rai.

Officials in JEPC preferring anonymity said that representation of the teachers and parents would be considered.

“We are mandated by the Right To Education (RTE) Act which directs for 40 hours of study hours in schools in a week which prompted the government to issue the timing. However, if there are representations for changing of time then it will be duly considered,” said a state program officer in JEPC.