Several private schools, reopening on Thursday after a month-long summer break, said they would keep outdoor activities suspended or restricted to early morning hours because of the heat.
Two school administrators said they would keep children indoors and wait for the monsoon to arrive and the weather to cool down before resuming outdoor activities.
In April and May, too, schools had been forced to call off outdoor activities because of the heat.
The state government had asked schools to extend their summer vacation and reopen on June 15 because of the weather.
Some of the schools that will resume in-person classes on Thursday are The Heritage School, Mahadevi Birla World Academy, South City International School and Indus Valley World School.
School heads said physical education classes would be held indoors and, if required, students would be kept in classrooms during the break.
“We have plenty of indoor spaces where we can conduct physical education classes. Once the rains come and the weather cools down considerably, we will let the children play outdoors. This is to prevent children from falling sick because of the heat,” said Amita Prasad, director of Indus Valley World School.
At The Heritage School, the students will be asked not to play cricket, football or other outdoor sports. “The temperature is still high, so we won’t allow children to play outdoor sports. They will play indoor games like chess or table tennis,” said Souvic Jati, academic coordinator for Classes IX and X.
Indus Valley World School and South City International School said if outdoor activities are allowed, they will end by 10 am.
It has been a hot month and schools should give time to students to adjust to the routine of a school day, teachers said.
“It is both hot and humid and so we will go slow with outdoor activities. For one month, students have been at home and many of them spent time in air-conditioned rooms. Getting them back into the school routine has to be slow and steady,” said Jessica Gomes Surana, principal, Loreto Day School Elliot Road.
“We have an indoor sports complex that the children can use. About going to the playground, we will take a call depending on the weather. At times it is cloudy, but if the sun is scorching we will keep them in classrooms even during the lunch break,” said Anjana Saha, principal, Mahadevi Birla World Academy.