While in a rickshaw in Dhaka’s Neelkhet area, the three held bags in front of their faces in an attempt to escape from the sun.
State Minister for Education Shamsunnahar Champa has said that the decision to extend the one-week holiday in schools and colleges will be extended soon as the heat wave continues across the country.
However, in response to bdnews24.com’s question on Thursday saying that the leave is ‘less likely’, he said, “I don’t think the leave will be extended.
“We are looking at the situation. I will give a quick decision. A decision may be made this afternoon. Teachers and students will know by Saturday.”
An official of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education told bdnews24.com that so far there has been no discussion in the ministry about extending the holiday.
“If the situation worsens, the leave may be extended. Otherwise, the class will continue. Morning shift may be brought forward if necessary. Classes can also start online.”
Schools and colleges were supposed to open after the Eid and New Year holidays on April 21. But due to the continuous heat wave since the beginning of April, the temperature exceeded 42 degrees in some districts, and the government announced a holiday in schools and colleges till April 27.
Even though four days have already passed, the heat has not subsided. Instead, the Meteorological Office issued a heat wave warning for three more days in Thursday’s bulletin.
The country’s highest temperature of 41.6 degrees Celsius was recorded at Mongla in Bagerhat on Tuesday as well. The maximum temperature in Dhaka was 39.2 degrees Celsius.
Meteorologists are warning that the ongoing heat wave will continue till the first week of May. The UN children’s fund UNICEF has also called for special precautionary measures, reminding children of the ‘extremely high risk’ in summer.
In this situation, whether the school-college holidays will be increased or not, the discussion is going on for the last few days. If the holiday is not extended, the students will have to return to class from next Sunday.
