PARAMARIBO – The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture informed principals that primary schools and the schools for secondary education will close at noon in October because of the extreme heat. It also advised the principals to organize short breaks for the pupils and the students so that they could rehydrate themselves by drinking water.

A principal told Times of Suriname that she organized fundraisers and raked in donations so that ventilators could be bought for her school. She explained that there are 40 students in each classroom. Last year the Education Ministry had also given the green light to close the schools at noon. A teacher pointed out that she had brought her own ventilator to her school because of the unbearable heat.

“How will things be when the schools open again especially given the fact that the weather is hotter this year. I pity the children who have to stay in the classrooms until noon. I will adapt my lesson plan for this period so that I can teach subjects such as reading, math and language before 11 a.m. I run a first grade and I can’t force the pupils to keep paying attention in this heat”, said the teacher. Another teacher who runs a class with 34 pupils made it clear that the situation is unbearable under these circumstances. She hopes that the ministry does not add more pupils to her class. “Why doesn’t the ministry take into account the fact that the weather is extremely hot in October and November when it organizes the enrollments?”…[+]