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recently, many provinces and cities in the south have experienced high temperature weather, with temperatures in some areas as high as 43°c. primary and secondary schools in many cities such as changde, hunan, anhui, nanchang, jiangxi, sichuan, and chongqing have urgently suspended classes or delayed the start of school. some schools that opened on schedule also placed ice cubes in classrooms to cool them down because there were no air conditioners installed.

topics such as "when will children be able to use air conditioners under the continued high temperatures?" and "should primary and secondary school classrooms be equipped with air conditioners" have sparked heated discussions.

many primary and secondary schools in china have suspended classes or delayed opening due to high temperatures, and some schools have used ice cubes to cool down.

recently, many provinces and cities in the south have been hit by high temperatures, with temperatures in some areas reaching 43°c. primary and secondary schools in many cities, including changde, hunan, nanchang, jiangxi, sichuan, and chongqing, have urgently suspended classes or delayed the start of school.

parents in chengdu, sichuan, changsha, hunan, huangshan, anhui and other places posted on social platforms that due to the hot weather, the primary and secondary schools where their children are studying have no air conditioning and cannot hold classes normally. some schools have purchased ice cubes and placed them in the classrooms. some parents have even organized themselves to deliver ice cubes to their children's classes in an effort to cool down.

on september 2, at the north campus of chengdu normal university yindu zither primary school in chengdu hi-tech zone, the open space outside the classroom was filled with blue and red plastic buckets, each containing huge cubes of ice.

"are all the mothers in chengdu worried about their children getting heatstroke today?" said another parent. parents called 12345 to complain and finally received a notice of suspension of classes.

a school in changsha uses ice cubes to cool down classrooms (photo source: sanxiang metropolis daily)

many other cities in the yangtze river basin also suffered from high temperature "disaster weather" and were unable to hold classes as normal. a parent in changsha, hunan said that students in all primary schools in her district complained that "the weather was too hot and they felt dizzy and wanted to vomit."

unexpectedly, the first lesson for primary and secondary schools in some southern provinces this year was "how to fight the heat." it is said that in some places, ice reservations have far exceeded expectations and are in short supply, and "the phone has been flooded with calls from parents."

therefore, many people have a question in their minds: why are air conditioners not popular in primary and secondary school classrooms?

there are many objective factors for classrooms not having air conditioning

a chengdu netizen asked through the people's daily online leadership message board whether the local school has plans to install air conditioners. on september 3, the chengdu shuangliu district education bureau replied that after reviewing the school equipment catalogues issued by the state and sichuan province, there was no clear regulation on whether air conditioners should be installed in primary and secondary school classrooms. when the conditions are ripe in the future, the district education bureau will coordinate all parties to actively implement the issues raised by the netizen in accordance with relevant requirements.

it is recommended to postpone the start of school or install air conditioners (source: screenshot of xiangwen complaint express)

on september 4, the reporter called the kaifu district education bureau in changsha city, hunan province to inquire about the reasons why primary schools did not install air conditioners. the staff responded that there were three reasons for not installing air conditioners: first, there was no policy requirement to install air conditioners; second, some schools were not equipped with lines that could install air conditioners, or the voltage capacity was insufficient, making it difficult to install directly; third, there were some funding issues. the staff said that currently no primary schools in kaifu district had air conditioners installed, and whether to install air conditioners required the education department to make a comprehensive assessment, and parents had different opinions.

on the same day, the reporter called the qingyang district education bureau of chengdu city, sichuan province. the staff said that according to the construction standards of ordinary primary and secondary schools, the school did not include air conditioners in ordinary classrooms when it was first built. according to the requirements of campus infectious disease prevention and control, ordinary classrooms should open windows for ventilation in warm seasons. at present, the installation of air conditioners requires the expansion of school electricity and the transformation of air conditioning dedicated lines. this requires special funds from the government and financial departments to complete, and it cannot be solved in a short time. all they can do now is to collect opinions from all parties and report them.

a staff member of tunxi jiangnan experimental primary school in tunxi county, huangshan city, anhui province said that the school is an old campus and the current power system cannot support air conditioners. if air conditioners are installed, the entire power supply will be cut off.

subjectively, to cultivate students' spirit of hard work and perseverance?

in addition to the policy and funding factors mentioned above, some parents and education authorities believe that primary and secondary schools do not install air conditioners because of a controversial concept. in the comments to the news, some netizens believe that "they should not install air conditioners" because "they all went through this when they were young" and "it is good to let children suffer a little."

in addition, in response to this issue, the changsha municipal education bureau responded in 2020 that the primary and secondary school stages are the golden period for cultivating students' hard-working spirit and adaptability, and severe cold and heat are also a kind of exercise for primary and secondary school students. at the same time, it is not good for students' health to be in an air-conditioned environment for a long time, and the adaptability of each student's physique to air conditioning is not the same; in 2021, the hefei municipal education bureau also responded that "because the coldest and hottest seasons are holidays, it is necessary for students to exercise their basic lives, and students should not be treated as flowers in a greenhouse and over-cared for."

changsha municipal education bureau responded (source: rednet)

in response to the above view, many media commentators believe that hard work is a virtue, but it should be cultivated within a reasonable range. in hot weather, adults may suffer from symptoms such as heat stroke and vomiting, not to mention primary and secondary school students who gather in classrooms for classes. not only may they feel uncomfortable, but they also find it difficult to concentrate, which will directly affect their learning efficiency and quality. although we should avoid "air-conditioning disease", we should not stop eating because of choking. moreover, when adults advocate exercise for children while they are in the air conditioner, this contrast of "hard work without hardship" is actually full of unfairness and unscientific meanings.

"delaying the start of school" or emergency suspension of classes is just a stopgap measure that replaces economic costs with time costs. objectively speaking, even if it is just "normally high temperature", it is more appropriate for students to study in a classroom with "cooling ability". times have changed, and it is no longer justifiable to cling to old ideas. therefore, when to install air conditioners in primary and secondary school classrooms and how to solve the funding problem are the most important things to consider.

more and more primary and secondary schools are trying to "break the deadlock"

the reporter noticed that in recent years, many places in china have been promoting the installation of air conditioners in public primary and secondary schools.

air conditioning for classrooms (function rooms) in public primary and secondary schools is one of hainan's provincial livelihood projects in 2024. in 2024, air conditioning will be installed in more than 7,000 classrooms and function rooms in more than 200 public primary and secondary schools in 15 cities and counties such as danzhou and wenchang, basically achieving full coverage of air conditioning for classrooms in public primary and secondary schools across the province.

in 2023, yuhuatai district, nanjing city, jiangsu province, will implement the initiative of installing air conditioners in all 45 primary and secondary schools in the district. in response to a proposal from a cppcc member in may this year, the changzhou municipal education bureau mentioned that with the rapid development of the social economy and the continuous improvement of people's living standards, creating a good learning environment for primary and secondary school students has become a social consensus. the municipal education bureau has always attached great importance to the equipment construction of schools, especially the configuration, use and management of air conditioners in ordinary classrooms, and has included it in the key work plan of education.

among the top ten practical projects for the people in hangzhou, zhejiang province in 2020, "5,850 new classrooms with air conditioners installed in urban public kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, with air conditioning coverage rates of 95% and over 65% in classrooms respectively" is an important content.

at present, most high school classrooms in changde city, hunan province have installed air conditioners, and a few junior high school and primary school classrooms have installed air conditioners. the changde municipal education bureau said that in the future, it will actively raise funds and strengthen fund coordination according to the financial conditions of the city and county levels, and gradually install air conditioners in primary and secondary school classrooms. at the same time, it will actively reflect on the improvement of the fiscal allocation standards for public funds for primary and secondary schools, solve the problem of air conditioning electricity costs, and provide a more comfortable learning environment for primary and secondary school students.

in summary, there are indeed some subjective and objective difficulties in installing air conditioners in primary and secondary schools, but there are solutions. in recent years, with climate change, high temperature and extreme weather have occurred frequently around the world. in the face of environmental changes, promoting the installation of air conditioners in primary and secondary school classrooms should no longer be regarded as an unnecessary luxury. education involves thousands of households. based on students' learning and development, seeking solutions to balance students' needs, educational resources and economic burdens requires the joint efforts of schools, families and society. if local finances allow, it is better to clarify funding expenditures, standardize the financial approval process, and open the door to convenient installation of air conditioners in classrooms; if local finances are limited, it is better to introduce market mechanisms and set up a more scientific and reasonable cost-sharing mechanism between home and school. on this basis, local governments may wish to issue more refined air conditioning installation guidance based on actual climatic conditions.

jimu news integrates the paper, tianjin radio, beijing news, qilu evening news, sanxiang metropolis daily, etc.

(source: jimu news)

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