Private Schools Association of Jammu and Kashmir (PSAJK) has asked the government to announce the winter vacation for schools, especially for lower classes on a priority basis, due to minus temperatures and foggy conditions.

The Association said that they have been receiving representations from a number of parents and even schools about the inclement weather conditions. “For a 4-year-old kid, it is extremely difficult to get up early and get ready for school during this weather. We are not a developed nation where houses, buses, and schools are all centrally heated. We have to adjust according to the weather,” said a spokesperson of PSAJK. “Even for parents, it is a difficult task to prepare their wards for schools.”

The Association said that exposure to extreme foggy conditions and minus temperatures can have a negative impact on health of children. At schools too, these children are not able to focus, thus the entire exercise of classes goes to waste. “In order to safeguard the health of our children, we ask the government to announce the winter vacations as early as possible,” he said.

The PSAJK reiterated its demand for re-adjusting the academic calendar in accordance with the local temperature. “We have time and again conveyed to the government that the March session is not feasible for Kashmir. Our schools usually complete their syllabus up to November. We have harsh winters, and during the March session, these months are simply lost, as students don’t know whether to revise old lessons or use the time to study the syllabus of new classes,” he said.

The Association said that the government should align the academic calendar of Kashmir in accordance with local weather conditions. Government orders cannot change weather conditions, and it is in the best interest that we switch back to the old calendar. “The March session has created numerous problems, and it needs to be dealt with before more damage is done. The October session is a norm in almost every country that has harsh winters and we are not demanding something extraordinary,” he said.