Jharkhand: Summer vacation up to Class 8 extended till June 21

The Jharkhand government has once again announced an extension of the school closure for students up to Class 8 until June 21, citing the prevailing heatwave conditions. This marks the third time the summer break has been prolonged this year. Previously, the government had extended the summer vacation on June 11 and June 14. While the schools were scheduled to reopen for primary and middle-level students on June 19, a recent order from the secretary of the school education and literacy department, K Ravi Kumar, stated that students in Classes 9 to 12 must attend school from 7 am to 11 am. The order applies to all categories of government, non-government, aided/non-aided (including minority), and private schools operating in the state. It mandates the closure of schools from June 19 to June 21 for KG to 8 classes, considering the extreme heat and heatwave conditions.
Jharkhand continues to experience unabated heatwave conditions, with temperatures ranging between 41 and 46 degrees Celsius. Abhishek Anand, the in-charge of the Ranchi Meteorological Centre, mentioned that there is unlikely to be a significant change in the maximum temperature over the next couple of days. However, he added that the temperature might decrease by two to three degrees Celsius thereafter. Speaking about the progress of the monsoon, Anand stated that conditions are favorable for the advancement of the southwest monsoon over some parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Bihar in the next two to three days. Normally, the monsoon arrives in Jharkhand between June 10 and June 15. Although it reached near Sahibganj district in the state's northeast on June 12, it did not progress further due to unfavorable conditions.