"The presidents of primary and secondary board have been asked to hold all their classes in the morning so that students can get back home by afternoon, when the heat is most intense," said Dibyen Mukherjee, Director of School Education, West Bengal, here on Thursday.

Students of government schools in the city are presently spared from the heat, as these schools will reopen only on May 2.

"As of now, all the government schools are closed. If we get any directives with regard to the heat, they will be followed in accordance," said a teacher of the Hindu School.

The minister, however, has pinned hope on Nor'wester to provide some relief to the people.

"Though my son studies in the morning section, returning back from school in the afternoon becomes extremely difficult due to the heat. Besides, these days the heat is so severe even in the mornings, that it hardly makes much of a difference,' said Aseema Gupta, parent of a Class IV student.

The summer vacations in most of the city schools will begin only in mid-May. Vacations at St. Lawrence School starts from May 19, and for students of United Missionary Girls School it will begin from May 23. Some schools, such as Patha Bhavan have still not decided on the dates of the holidays.

More than preponed holidays, what parents seem to want more is measures to cope with the rising temperature. "I often find my son complaining of discomfort at school during power cuts. Schools should at least invest in a generator, considering there are so many students huddled together in every class," said Gupta.