Coaching camp for meritorious students in Ludhiana: Heat, exhaustion taking toll on students’ health
Ludhiana civil hospital emergency medical officer says four to five students from the coaching camp visiting the facility daily
Amid the scorching heat, nearly 50 students are falling ill every day during the ongoing coaching classes for competitive exams for children from meritorious schools and schools of eminence from across the state.

According to reports, while some of these are hospitalised, they are discharged in a few hours and sent back to attend classes.
At least 693 Class 12 students from the state’s schools of eminence and meritorious schools have gathered at the Senior Secondary Residential School for Meritorious Students, Ludhiana, for coaching classes aimed at competitive exams, including Joint Entrance Exam (JEE), Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) and National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), from June 6 till June 28.
Civil hospital emergency medical officer Vishal said, “Four students from the camp visited the hospital on Monday. A student also visited on Tuesday. They are admitted, given glucose drip and sent back to their hostels after being kept under observation for a few hours.”
He added that the main reason behind the students falling ill was exhaustion and dehydration.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the maximum temperature on Tuesday was recorded at 44 degrees Celsius in the city. The IMD also sounded a yellow alert for heat on Wednesday and Thursday.
Many of the students complain of uneasiness, breathlessness, skin allergies, suffocation, nausea and blood pressure issues due to the ongoing heatwave in the region.
According to information, students are gathered in a queue outside the school’s medical room from 8 am. Nearly five students are admitted to a hospital every day, people aware of the matter said.
District education officer Harjinder Singh said, “There is no doubt that the students are falling ill due to heat. We have made arrangements but the temperature is too high. I proposed to cut these classes off for the last week, which could be adjusted in the winter break.”
A boy attending classes for NEET claimed that six students were sharing a room in the hostel and air coolers are only available on the top floor. “There are no air coolers on the first and second floor of the boys’ hostels. In this weather, we feel like we made a mistake by deciding to attend these classes. My parents were not willing for me to attend this camp but I did not want to miss this opportunity and insisted,” he said.
He added that only one chapter has been covered so far.
“22 days can never be enough for preparation for these competitive exams. What is being taught here has already been covered in our school,” he said.
The students informed that girls are mostly bearing the brunt of scorching heat and nearly four of them have to visit a health facility every day.
Ludhiana meritorious school principal Manju Bhardwaj said that a few students who were admitted have a medical history and the ones falling ill due to heat were being given proper medical care.
“A doctor visits every day for check-ups and issues faced by the students are minor. We have Glucon-D and ORS available and 59 air coolers are installed at the hostels. We have directed the students to ensure eight hours of sleep and if any of them wishes to leave due to health issues, they are free to do so,” she added.
Punjab education minister Harjot Singh Bains said there was no better time than summer break for these classes. “In winter as well, there are multiple problems due to extremely cold weather. The students have voluntarily joined the camp,” he added.
On being informed about the health of the students, he said that the government would consider cutting the classes off for the last week.