Schools, Colleges: A reopening that defies heatwave and logic too

The reopening of educational institutions amid the heatwave was marred by two teachers’ deaths and dozens of students becoming sick.

Many parents and experts questioned whether the government decision to resume in-person classes during such harsh conditions was at all prudent.

School teachers Mostak Ahmed, 58, from Chattogram’s Boakhali upazila, and Ahsan Habib, 37, from Jashore sadar died yesterday.

At least 18 students in Noakhali, 10 students and three teachers in Faridpur, two students in Munshiganj, and one in Dhaka fell sick during school hours. Some of them lost consciousness.

Fewer than usual pupils attended schools and colleges yesterday.

Bangladesh Meteorological Department yesterday extended its heatwave alert until May 1 morning. This is the eighth extension this month. There has been a heatwave every day in the country this month, apart from April 9 and 10.

The education ministry last night said secondary schools, madrasas and colleges will remain closed today in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Khulna, Chuadanga and Jashore districts.

Primary schools, however, will remain open across the country.

Earlier in the day, Education Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury opposed closing educational institutions nationwide because of high temperatures in some areas.

He had said schools could decide on their own if the temperature has become unbearable and has gone over 42 degrees Celsius in the areas concerned.

“Why do we talk about closing schools whenever something happens? It is not right to expect everything to will remain open, but educational institutions will be shut,” the minister told a programme in Dhaka.

In Bangladesh, a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius is not anything new.

Schools and colleges were scheduled to reopen on April 21 after the end of the Eid and Pahela Baishakh holidays but the government extended the closure until April 27 due to the heatwave.

Yesterday, 34 districts out of the 64 recorded temperatures above 36 degrees Celsius. In Jashore, it was 42.2 degrees Celsius, yesterday’s highest in the country.

Mostak, a teacher of the Khitapchar Azizia Mabudia Alim Madrasa in Boalkhali upazila of Chattogram, collapsed on his way to the madrasa in Kalurghat area yesterday morning.

“The teacher became unconscious when he was crossing a river on a ferry,” said Kazi Emran Kaderi, a relative of the teacher.

Mostak was taken to Chattogram Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead around 10:00am.

In Jashore, Ahsan, a teacher at Ahmedabad Secondary School, lost consciousness at school, said Headteacher AJM Masud Parvez.

He was declared dead when taken to Jashore General Hospital.

In Noakhali, 18 students of Joy Narayanpur Islamia Fazil Degree Madrasa in Begumganj and Janakalyan Shikkaha Trust High School in Hatiya became sick in classes.

Fatema Israt, a senior teacher at Trust High School, said, “Just after class started, some students of class-VI, -VIII, -IX, and -X became sick. Some of them started throwing up while others complained of severe headaches.”

Local doctors attended to them and they were sent home, she added.

Jamal Uddin, a teacher at the madrasa, said one of the students lost consciousness in a classroom.

In Faridpur’s Saltha upazila, 10 students and three teachers, including the acting headmaster, of Ramkantopur Government Primary School became sick. Two students had to be admitted to the hospital.

Sukla Rani Shil, acting headmaster of the school, said, “We received treatment and two students were admitted to the Saltha Upazila Health Complex.”

“The teachers and students fell sick due to excessive heat,” said Saltha Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Kazi Abdul Momin.

In Munshiganj, a class-VI student passed out during class at Banari Bahumukhi High School of Hasail Banari union in Tongibari upazila.

A madrasa student in Shologhor of Srinagar also became unconscious in class. He was later admitted to the Srinagar Health Complex.

The Daily Star talked to headteachers of 10 schools in the capital and they said student attendance was low.

Mozammel Huq Miah, headteacher of Rajdhani High School, said, “We had around 50 percent attending today [Sunday] whereas the normal attendance is over 80 percent.

“… Many parents did not send their children to school fearing the scorching heat.”

Echoing him, Principal of Dhaka Collegiate School Ariful Islam said some parents expressed concern over sending their children to school.

Salma Akhtar, headteacher at Hariyadi Government Primary School in Kapasia of Gazipur, said due to the heat, only a few students attended school.

PARENTS CONCERNED

Many parents were sceptical of sending their children to school. Some opined that the authorities were prioritising the schedule for academic activities over the children’s health.

“When there is no respite from the heatwave and a heat alert continues, what is the point of reopening the schools? The weather remained unchanged as the government extended the heat alert again,” said Abrar, a parent from Mohammadpur.

“If they [the government] had to reopen then why did they shut down the schools before… ? The decisions are whimsical,” he said.

Shafiur Reza, a parent, said, “The government should extend the closure considering the well-being of the children. This might cause some loss but that can be made up.”

Jannatul Ferdous, a mother of two sixth graders in Jhenidah, said, “The temperature outside is unbearable for adults. How can the children bear it?” She demanded that the authorities close schools immediately.

Prof Siddiqur Rahman, a former director at the Institute of Education and Research of Dhaka University, told The Daily Star, “Due to the heatwave, all schools were closed, which was a welcomed decision. But reopening them, before any improvement in the temperature situation is not an appropriate move.”

“If students become ill or die then what’s the point of arranging education? First, their safety must be ensured.”

The decision to continue classes in educational institutions amid such a heatwave should be reconsidered, he added.

[Our staff correspondent in Chattogram and our correspondents in Noakhali, Benapole, Gazipur, Faridpur and Munshiganj contributed to this report.]