Heat struck: Students getting a little too much sun

18 primary school children in the hospital from heatstroke.

GUJRANWALA:

A total of 18 students at a local public school were sent to the hospital after suffering heatstroke on Saturday afternoon.

According to locals in Uddaywali, students have been attending classes outside in the blistering heat for several weeks now. “I see over 50 students sitting on the ground during school hours everyday, as the teacher sits in the shade of the tree,” said Chak 34-SJ resident Qadir. “We have complained to the administration but nothing is ever done,” he added.

Government Boys Primary School teacher Rafeeq said that the reason classes were conducted outside was because the fans and electricity was not operational at the school. “Locking these students in a baking oven is even worse and that is what it is like in the classrooms without air or a fan,” he said. Rafeeq said that the school administration had complained to the Education Department to ensure that all the fans and lights at the school were working but this had not happened.

On Saturday afternoon 18 students fainted after a suffering from heatstroke due to the extreme heat. “It was a terrible day. Students kept asking for a drink of water and we even had a couple of buckets of cold tube well water put outside but it wasn’t enough,” said school guard Bismillah Khan.

“I personally carried the boys into the car and we drove them to the DHQ hospital,” he said.

DHQ Hospital children’s ward attending Dr Dawar Ehsan said that he was surprised to see so many children being brought in from the same place. “They were all suffering from severe dehydration and heatstroke and we treated them,” he said. “One of the boys is in serious condition because he has also suffered severe sun burn and has not woken up. We have attached a drip and his parents have been called in,” he said.

School principal Chaudhary Raza Nadeem said that he did not know how to control the situation. “I have been writing to the Education Department nearly every day but they don’t care about little boys and girls suffering just to go to school,” he said.

Nadeem said that he had spent his own money to purchase a tarpaulin to tie with the trees so that such incidents could be avoided. “This is a temporary measure but we can depend on the school board,” he said.

Several parents protested outside the school on Sunday against the school administration but Nadeem personally assured them that he was taking steps to rectify the situation.

“He told us that housing the children inside would be even worse without fans and I agree. Now the school is erecting a temporary shade,” said eight-year-old Muhammad’s mother Bushra Bibi.

Parents and the school administration have appealed to the Punjab government and chief minister to take immediate notice of the situation.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2011.