A section of the parents has been appealing to the education department requesting to defer the re-opening of schools or curtail the duration of schooling hours due to adverse hot and humid conditions and in view of the delayed monsoon. It may be recalled that school hours were reduced on the opening day of school, and students were sent home early because of weather conditions.
Parents across the State have been echoing similar sentiments raising concerns about children suffering from dehydration and uneasiness due to the heat. However, such pleas have gone unheard even as the monsoon kept playing truant with even the depression over the Arabian Sea that was expected to trigger rain and squally weather over Goa easing without even a drizzle.
Once again, the education department stuck to its guns despite the issue's sensitivity and allowed regular classes mindful of the adversity faced by students who were promised a conducive and healthy study environment. What aggravates the scenario is that many schools don't have the required or even basic infrastructure to offset the situation. For example, an Anganwadi at Bagwadi behind the Betki-Khandola Panchayat office was equipped with tube lights, fans and even an electric water purifier but was not given an electricity connection since teaching began in 2017. That meant the kids had to bear the brunt silently for five years. Only after this newspaper highlighted the school's plight in its Thursday edition did authorities rush to the site to fit an electricity meter and ensure that the Anganwadi got the power supply.
Many schools don't have basic facilities or fans and cross-ventilation to tackle the summer heat that stuffs classrooms. Practically speaking, the overhead fans don't help the cause, either. Add to this the frequent power cuts and uncertainties of potable water that Goa is witnessing. There have to be considerations when situations are out of control.
Students have been religiously going through such gruelling times without a whimper because of the constant academic race they are in. The pressure of schooling is so intense that students overlook physical discomforts until it becomes unbearable. A slight adjustment in terms of timing would not hamper the academic year. Instead, it would have built up goodwill when the divide between the department, parents and teaching fraternity is widening.
The NEP is being introduced with much fanfare, and from here, the education system is poised for a complete overhaul with stress on hands-on learning. The teaching environment becomes the most critical component of the new system, where the focus is on students' comfort levels. However, we cannot expect success in a new system with rigid mindsets.
The department needs to show sensitivity and adaptability to situations and take appropriate measures keeping the students in mind. Also, there appears to be a non-existent redressal system, with parents more often venting their feelings at inappropriate forums. Proper channels of communication and protocol must be followed instead of random corner discussions. Issues should be addressed through the headmasters' association or authorities in the hierarchy. Parents cannot expect the education department to act on social media posts or written representations of a few parents.
