Calcutta schools are divided over the air conditioner.
While some believe it is a "necessity" in these times of soaring temperatures, some say it still is a "luxury" best left out of classrooms so that students learn to weather the heat.
Many schools have either declared holidays for the junior-most sections or are closing early. But a few such as The BSS School in Ballygunge, The Newtown School and Sushila Birla Girls' School (classes IX to XII) have been holding regular classes in the air-conditioned classrooms.
The Newtown School, which came up last year, is not only centrally air-conditioned but also has AC buses to "keep up with the changing weather".
BSS principal Sunita Sen said the school was "only supporting students by providing them with a comfortable physical set-up for better learning and concentration in view of a tough syllabus".
Last week, St. James' School suspended classes from Wednesday to Friday (Thursday was a holiday on account of Bengali New Year) as "attendance had dipped by almost 20 per cent".
The school reopened on Monday and summer timings will be followed from Tuesday - all classes will be over by 11.30am - till summer vacation starts in the second week of May. But principal Terence Ireland was clear that AC couldn't be a solution.
"An air-conditioned classroom would improve the performance of a child and a teacher because they are working in a conducive atmosphere; but not all activities are within the confines of a classroom... students have to move from one room to another for various subjects or go out to the ground," Ireland said.
There is the danger of students taking ill when there are drastic temperature fluctuations - about 20 degrees Celsius inside a classroom and 40 degrees outside, he said.
Apart from St. James', some of the other schools that don't believe in air-conditioned classrooms are La Martiniere for Girls, Modern High School for Girls and Apeejay School.
"If we have ACs in classrooms, students would get used to an easy way of life. It would decrease their ability to withstand harsh weather conditions," said Rupkatha Sarkar, principal, La Martiniere for Girls.
But the school has 12 air-conditioned classrooms in the Lawrence Hall building. "The measure was taken to keep the noise out because of the flyover that runs close by," Sarkar said.
Modern High director Devi Kar said one needed to be flexible. "We have to learn to adapt. We have children with different backgrounds. Everyone might not be used to ACs all the time and it is not right on them." The school has a few air-conditioned rooms on the top floor where some classes are held.
Sushila Birla principal Sharmila Bose felt switching over to air-conditioned classrooms was a natural progression for Calcutta, which has seen a steady rise in the maximum temperature over the years. "There's an AC everywhere... houses, children's rooms, malls, multiplexes.... Why not in classrooms if it can improve the concentration and productivity of students."
