The authorities of secondary schools can reschedule classes amid a heat wave sweeping the country for the last three weeks.

The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) issued a directive in this regard on Thursday.

The directive says the single-shift schools can start their classes earlier in consultation with the respective managing committees.

The schools having double swifts can suspend their daily assembly and begin the classes early too. 

"We have sent a notice [to the school authorities] so that they can finish all their classes early in the sweltering heat,” Prof Fahima Khatun, director general of the DSHE, told The Daily Star.

The summer vacation in schools would start on May 13, she said.

The notice also asks the authorities to ensure safe drinking water for students.

The country is experiencing a heat wave in the absence of rain, affecting normal life and activities. People, especially schoolchildren, are falling sick and some of them are getting hospitalised.

The highest temperature in the country was recorded 41 degrees Celsius in Rajshahi yesterday. It was 37.4 degrees Celsius in Dhaka, according to the Met office.

There are more than 18,500 secondary schools across the country.