QASSIM: A 60-year-old document written by a school principal on the situation of rain in the Qassim region has sparked off a debate on social media whether schools should be shut during heavy rain in the Kingdom. The 20-word telegram, a copy of which has gone viral on social media, says the boundary of the school was washed away by floodwater, local media reported Monday.

“They tried to continue classes as much as possible, even in the backyard of the institution. Please contact the owner of the building to expedite the repair work,” the document says.

Reacting to the telegram, Twitterati have pointed out that during those days, classes were not suspended and the educational process continued.

A number of people said rain should not be used as an excuse to close down schools and that the education process should continue, like it did six decades ago.

However, Suleiman Al-Fayez, former educationist, was quoted as saying that suspending classes is not harmful for the educational process. Instead, it protects children from rain-related accidents. “Safety should be given top priority.”

Al-Fayez said that suspension of classes did not mean vacation. Even if it happens, it is rare. In some regions, entire year classes were never suspended. Comparison with what was happening 60 years back is unfair, he said.

He said that schools had a maximum of 20 students then. “Now, each school has more than 700 students,” he added.