Secondary schools in Jashore to remain closed Tuesday as temp drops below 10°C

All secondary schools in Jashore will remain closed on Tuesday (23 January) in accordance with the government directives as temperature in the district is expected to remain below 10 degree celsius, the District Education Office announced today (22 January).

Temperature in the district fell to 9.08°C on Monday, lowest in the season, in the early morning amid a severe cold wave and the Meteorological Office forecasted that the temperature is likely to remain below the 10°C on Tuesday as well.

"All secondary schools in the district will remain closed on Tuesday due to the cold conditions. We will make further decisions in this regard considering the weather situation,"  Md Mahafuzul Hossain, district education officer, told The Business Standard (TBS).

In a directive regarding the school closure, the Jashore District Education Office said, "A severe cold wave is sweeping over Jashore. According to the information received from the heads of various educational institutions, students' regular activities are being disrupted this winter.

"Day temperature in Jessore district was recorded at 9.0°C on Monday and is expected to remain the same on Tuesday. In view of this, on 23 January, all educational institutions of the district have been instructed to stop class activities."

While the directive states that all educational institutions will remain closed tomorrow, the district's Primary Education Officer Mofazzel Hossain clarified to TBS that the primary schools will remain open.

"If the minimum temperature in the district falls below 9.0°C and the maximum temperature remains below 10.0°C, we have instructions to close primary schools. 

"Besides, the starting time of government primary schools has been changed as per the instructions of the Ministry of Education. As per the new announcement, the classes will start at 10:00am. Hopefully, there won't be any problems," he said.

According to Jessore Airport Meteorological Office data, in addition to a temperature of 9.8°C, air humidity in the district was recorded to be at 95%, making the cold even more gripping.

The bone-chilling cold has disrupted the day-to-day tasks as people are not leaving the house unless absolutely necessary.

Last week, the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) issued a directive to close all secondary level educational institutions where the temperature falls below 10.0°C.

The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education issued a similar directive as well.

Despite the directives, educational institutions remained open in Jashore on Monday.