The schools could even lose their recognition if they ignore the State Government’s decision regarding enforcement of dress code issued in the wake of dengue threat. The State Government has asked the schools to make sure that all the students compulsorily wear full sleeved shirts and trousers till October 30 to prevent them from bite of dengue mosquito.
In view of the threat of Dengue which is escalating every day the Chief Minister (CM) of Uttarakhand, Harish Rawat appeared particularly concerned for the school children exposed to dengue in the video conferencing session with the officers of administration and education department on Thursday. The CM strictly asked the officers to ensure that students wear full sleeved clothes in the schools.
The Pioneer in its edition of 19 September had highlighted the issue of school children exposed to threat of Dengue as they wear half sleeved shirts and shorts as part of their summer uniform. It is worth mentioning here that the vector of Dengue Aedes Aezypti (Tiger mosquito) strikes during day time when the kids are in school. After the concern raised by this newspaper, the education department released a customary advisory for the schools for full sleeved clothes, which many school heads failed to acknowledge. Most of the private schools ignored the directive of dress code forcing the CM to intervene.
When inquired by The Pioneer, the Chief Education Officer (CEO) of Dehradun, S P Khali clearly said that the strict action would be initiated against the school which is found not following the order. “I would personally visit the schools to make sure that the order is implemented in letter and spirit. We can go to the extent of cancelling the recognition of the offending school,” Khali said. P Khali claimed that the department is on active mode on the disease from last many days. He said that biology teachers or Principals are giving lectures on preventive measures to be adopted for Dengue during morning assemblies in government schools.