Baripada: Three students were hospitalised in a span of two days after collapsing due to sunstroke in this town while on their way to their school, which continued to hold classes in defiance of a government directive mandating all educational institutions to be closed in view of an unprecedented heatwave.
The school to which the students belonged – St Ann’s Convent near Baripada Station Bazaar — is still open six days a week despite scorching heat. However, it is not the only institution that is flouting norms. Several private schools and coaching centres here in Mayurbhanj district are refusing to put classes on hold thus putting the lives of schoolchildren at risk, say parents.
Class X students of St Ann’s Convent – Priyanka Das and Shan Baishakh Das – fainted while on their way to school Friday due to sunstroke and were admitted to the district headquarters hospital in Baripada.
Priyanka’s father said his daughter’s health is in a precarious state.
He blamed school authorities for forcing students to attend classes despite a government order asking all schools to shut down due to the extreme heat.
Another girl student identified as Aditi Mohanty had fainted due to sunstroke Thursday and is now under treatment.
Meanwhile, school authorities said they decided to continue holding classes for some more days as “studies was being given priority”, and said the school was not open for any other reason apart from ensuring that students’ studies remained unaffected.
District education officer Pratibha Manjari Das however said a report will be sought from the principal of the school while the matter will be intimated to the school and mass education department.
Several other convent schools in the district are yet to comply with the state government’s directive and are holding classes in the sweltering heat.
A principal of a convent school, on condition of anonymity, said his school is holding morning classes and is closing before noon, and sought to question why the government is not going after coaching classes across the state which remain open throughout the day.
The DEO clarified that the education department has no authority over coaching centres, but observed that guardians should exercise their own discretion on whether it is safe to send their wards to school under such circumstances. PNN
