SWABI, May 3: Educational institutions in Swabi district are the hardest hit by the prolonged power outages with the advent of the hot summer.

Students especially those in the public sector schools, which are overcrowded and have poor accommodation facilities, are made to sit in classrooms in sweltering conditions. The long hours of outages have also caused shortage of water in various schools.

“Whenever power supply stops the heat inside the classrooms forces us to come out. It is difficult to teach in hot conditions.

The Peshawar Electric Supply Company should not conduct loadshedding during school hours,” said a teacher in a high school where the total strength of students is about 1,200. “If it was not possible for Pesco to end the loadshedding altogether it can at least reduce its duration”.

Like boys schools the girls schools are also suffering because of continuous blackouts. A female teacher said teaching in overcrowded classrooms become very difficult whenever light went. “We have no alternative for loadshedding, which is badly affecting studies of the students”. It was seen that in various schools teachers conducted classes under trees.

Situation in private schools is not different from those of public sector educational institutions. Most of the private schools are housed in rented buildings, which lack proper ventilation system and are without any open space. The teachers demanded of the government to reduce the loadshedding hours during the school time. Education department officials said local lawmakers were required to loot into the matter and help end the miseries of the students and teachers.