ISLAMABAD, June 4: Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) on Monday announced that summer vacation in the capital schools would start from 16th of this month and end on August 26.

On the other hand, teachers and students gave the news a guarded welcome saying with mercury already touching over 41 degree Celsius, holidays for junior section should have been announced from June 11, Dawn has learnt. According to sources, Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), under which the schools are run, had initially planned summer vacation from the last week of June.

A teacher on condition of anonymity said according to the annual calendar of activities circulated recently in different schools and colleges of Islamabad by the FDE, the summer vacation was to commence from as late as June 22.

When some heat-related incidents in schools were reported to the FDE, it sent a summary to the CADD requesting it to start the holidays a week earlier.

“Besides extreme heat and suffocation in the crowded classrooms, the loadshedding and unavailability of water added to the miseries of the students,” a teacher in one of the schools said requesting not to be named.

“The junior section students are the worst hit by shortage of water as they have to visit toilet more often and the shortage created serious hygiene issues. With parched lips and dry throats, students keep visiting the water coolers but without success,” said another teacher at a government school.

“In the absence of electricity, we find it hard to breathe, let alone concentrating on the studies,” said Mohammed Osama, a Grade 7 student.

Parents were also concerned about the delay in the announcement of summer vacations. “When our children return home at noon, the heat is intolerable,” said Mohammad Abdullah, a parent living in Bhara Kahu.

There have been reports of students fainting and bleeding from nose.

“Last week, two students fainted in Islamabad Model College for Boys (IMCB), 1-8 and the principal intimated the incident to the FDE requesting it to fix an early date for summer vacation,” shared a low cadre employee of the college on condition of anonymity.

“A student of Grade 3, on Friday had blood running from his nose. After failing to stop the bleeding, the college administration called his parents who shifted him to hospital.

“The heat has started telling on the health of the kids,” said a concerned female teacher S.A..

Joint Secretary CADD, Rafique Tahir while talking to Dawn said “Being aware of the situation, we have decided to announce summer vacation from June 16”.

“We have already 48 additional holidays and we have to complete the courses of the students so we have to keep all that in mind,” he said.