UAE | Education
Heat forces pupils to break fast early
Students at a public school are being forced to break their fast due to exhaustion caused by broken air conditioning units.
- By Siham Al Najami, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:47 September 3, 2008
Dubai: Students at a public school are being forced to break their fast due to exhaustion caused by broken air conditioning units.
Many students at Al Alfya Public School for Basic Education in Al Qusais are ending their fast early because of the soaring heat, coupled with the ACs that do not cool, leading to exhaustion.
"It's difficult to maintain my fast as I am unable to tolerate the heat. Sometimes I feel like I'm about to faint. It's really frustrating to start school with an intention to fast but end up breaking your fast because the classroom is not cool enough," said a 12-year-old female student.
Some teachers opened the doors of their classrooms as they hoped the fresh air would help cool the students.
"The air conditioning in some classrooms is improving as they started maintenance work yesterday. However, about 25 of these units should be changed because they only function for a couple of days and then become useless," a teacher said.
In this situation, teachers are finding it difficult to teach, said an Arabic teacher, adding that some students are attending classes in the auditorium as the ACs in their classrooms don't work.
"How can you teach in a place that does not have a white board or proper facilities to conduct a class," said Manal Bin Oboud, the arts teacher.
According to Amnah Darwish, assistant principal of the school, full maintenance work was carried out at the premises this summer, which is still continuing in some parts. However, maintenance of the air-conditioners was not included as a different contractor handles the job.
Timeframe
With this in mind, the company in charge of maintaining the ventilation at the school said that the entire maintenance should be completed during the summer break before fixing the ACs. This is now expected to be completed in the next two weeks.
Fasting will be much more challenging for 11-year-old Maitha Adnan, who is fasting for the first time this Ramadan.
The UAE national tried to fast on the first two days but failed due to the heat. "I have to admit even attempting to fast has been exhausting. It's difficult to concentrate, and journeying back home is most difficult. The bus is air-conditioned but it is not enough to cool us. I fast because I believe in its importance and because we need to feel for the less fortunate," said Adnan.
It's frustrating to start school with an intention to fast but end up breaking your fast because the classroom is notcool enough."
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