The state government brings summer holidays forward by 11 days for students, though teachers are still required to report for duty amidst soaring temperatures.
RAIPUR, April 17 — The heat broke 43 degrees in Rajnandgaon on Thursday.
That was enough for the state. Chhattisgarh is pulling its school summer vacations forward. Starting April 20, classrooms across the region will empty out. The government ordered all public, aided, and private schools to shut their doors to students 11 days earlier than the originally scheduled May 1 break.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai made the call after reviewing weather data that showed temperatures climbing past the 40-degree mark across multiple districts.
“Ensuring the safety of children during the severe heatwave is our top priority,” Sai announced on X. “The summer vacation has been preponed so that their health is not adversely affected. Summer vacation has now been declared from April 20 to June 15, thereby ensuring the safety and well-being of children amidst this scorching heat.”
But there’s a catch. The shutdown order applies only to students. Teachers don’t get the reprieve. They are still mandated to report to empty schools.
Why keep staff in boiling buildings when the kids are sent home? The state school education department hasn’t offered an explanation on the record.
The Raipur Meteorological Centre confirms the threat is real and rising. Forecasters expect the mercury to climb another one to three degrees over the next 72 hours. Isolated pockets in the Bilaspur, Raipur, and Durg divisions are already under heatwave warnings valid through April 19.
The numbers tell the story. Raipur baked at 41.7 degrees Celsius on Thursday. Down in Rajnandgaon, the thermometer topped out at a state-high 43 degrees. Only Ambikapur offered any relief, recording a statewide minimum of 19.6 degrees overnight.
And the heat isn’t breaking anytime soon.
This preemptive move keeps millions of children out of the midday sun. For the teachers left behind, the sweltering wait for June continues.
