Tyumen Residents, Teachers Complain to Mizulina Over Cold Weather Closures
Ekaterina Mizulina«s previous visits to Tyumen contrast with current disputes over school closures during a period of extreme cold weather.
Tyumen schoolchildren and teachers have complained to Ekaterina Mizulina about local authorities who, despite the frost, are not declaring school closures. The public figure published these letters in her blog.
«There»s some trouble with closures in Tyumen: outside there are very severe frosts, but they cancel classes not for everyone. I«m already being written to not only by schoolchildren but also by teachers,» she writes on her Telegram channel.
For example, in one of the messages, it says:
«I beg you, pay attention. I am in the 7th grade. The time is 07:30, and I»m already going outside in thermal underwear, as it«s -32°C (-26°F) outside, not -35°C (-31°F)! My feet are freezing, the wind is terrible. And I have to walk three kilometers on foot because the buses stop far away,» says a letter from a child in Tyumen.
«We, residents of the city of Tyumen, appeal to you with a request for the necessity of closures aimed at protecting the health and safety of our children in conditions of severe winter frosts. As you know, Tyumen is famous for its frosts, and on such cold days it is especially difficult to move around the city. We, employees of educational institutions, understand that most elementary school children are driven by parents, but many of us, teachers and staff, are forced to commute to work and back on public transport. On such frosty days, this becomes a real ordeal,» writes one of the teachers. «By lunchtime, the temperature usually rises, but in the evening, when we return home, the frosts intensify, which creates additional health risks. We, like our first-shift students, are also people, and we are also cold on the way.»
Ekaterina Mizulina has received many similar complaints. But what measures she can take, besides publication in her personal channel, is still unclear.
Meanwhile, Tyumen authorities have already explained how they make decisions on closures.
«A virtual assistant has been developed, a special program that in automatic mode collects parameters of weather conditions for the current date from seven different sources, outputs the average value, and this system already posts information for students and parents about the cancellation of classes due to climatic conditions,» said Anatoly Ivanov, head of the department in the Tyumen City Education Department.
Recall that abnormal frosts in Tyumen have been observed for several days. During difficult weather conditions, in-person lessons were canceled for some schoolchildren. For example, today students from 1st to 9th grade stayed home. But only those who study in the first shift.
At lunchtime, closures were introduced only for elementary school students.
