SURKHET: Schools in Birendranagar will be closed from Sunday due to increasing hot weather.

The Private and Boarding Schools Organisation of Nepal (PABSON), the umbrella organization for private and boarding schools in the country, decided to close schools for a week beginning June 2, citing the scorching heat.

The maximum temperature in Birendranagar reached around 40 degrees Celsius today.

PABSON Surkhet president Ved Prakash Dhakal stated that they collectively decided to shut down the institutional schools for a week to protect children’s health from the extreme heat.

Birendranagar Municipality is also planning to close community schools within the municipality due to the intense heat, according to Dheerendra Sharma Lamsal, Chief of the Municipality’s Education Section.

However, he noted that an official decision has not yet been made.

“We will close the community schools within the municipality from Sunday if the temperature continues to rise.

However, if there is a respite from the heat due to rain, the schools will not be closed,” he added.

Immunization Programme Affected

Meanwhile, the ongoing polio immunization campaign, which started on May 26, is likely to be affected by the school closures.

The campaign is scheduled to run until June 8 and is being conducted in the local units of Surkhet in two phases, in coordination with the schools.

The programme is set to run in Birendranagar, Gurbhakot, and Panchapuri municipalities, as well as in Simta, Barahatal, and Chaukune rural municipalities from June 4-7.