FIX CLASSROOMS, NOT CLOCKS

Every year, as temperatures rise in the Kashmir Valley, the discussion reemerges: Should schools either start summer breaks earlier or adjust class schedules to escape the heat?

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In response to complaints from students and parents regarding the unbearable heat in classrooms, the government implemented changes to school hours and, in some instances, allowed for earlier vacations. While these measures may help with the immediate discomfort, they do not address the underlying issue. The underlying problem is that the infrastructure of government schools in Kashmir is in terrible condition, and merely changing school hours provides only a temporary fix to a much larger problem.

It is ironic that in a region with long and cold winters, it is summer that has come to reveal the weakness of our education system. Schools, particularly rural and poor ones, do not have the minimum infrastructure to operate in any season, not to mention the harsh heat waves climate change is increasingly frequent in bringing.

Some of the government schools in Kashmir still function out of buildings with tin roofs hovels that act like ovens in the heat of summer and freezers in the cold of winter. With minimal ventilation, no fans, little or no power backup, and poor classroom space, students are jammed into stifling rooms that are not meant for learning. Kids collapsing in assemblies, heat-induced nosebleeds, and shorter attention spans are not an occasional phenomenon; they are a regular phenomenon.

Numerous schools in Jammu and Kashmir operate without essential facilities such as drinking water, functional toilets, playgrounds, or boundary walls, according to official data. Additionally, a significant number of these institutions lack ceiling fans, air coolers, or roofs designed to withstand heat. In light of this situation, shifting school hours from 8 AM to 6 AM or announcing an earlier dismissal may quell public criticism, but it fails to tackle the underlying issue.