Delhi govt to take a call on reopening schools today

Schools said they were waiting for a go-ahead on the resumption of in-person classes, even as they stressed on the fact that frequent closures exacerbated hesitancy among parents

As air pollution levels in Delhi on Tuesday improved to settle in the ‘poor’ zone with the city recording an average AQI of 290 -- the best since November 1, the Delhi government is set to take a call on reopening of schools on Wednesday.

Schools in the national capital were ordered shut by the Delhi government on November 13 in view of the hazardous levels of air pollution, and the directorate of education on Sunday said that they will stay closed till further orders. (HT File)

Schools in the national capital were ordered shut by the Delhi government on November 13 in view of the hazardous levels of air pollution, and the directorate of education on Sunday said that they will stay closed till further orders.

School administrators and experts said they the notion that keeping children at home will reduce exposure to pollutants was not rooted in science, and added that continued closure of schools may lead to major learning gaps. In-person classes had barely resumed after a nearly 20-month pandemic shutdown, when they were again closed due to rising air pollution.

A group of 140 parents in the national capital has written to lieutenant governor Anil Baijal seeking his intervention for reopening of schools, PTI reported.

In the letter, the parents have said that schools were already closed due to Covid-19, and while construction and other activities have been allowed in view of improvement in air quality, “children and their education be given equal attention, in fact greater, priority”.

Officials at the India Meteorological Department said winds gusting up to 20 kmph on Sunday and 25 kmph on Monday led to a marked improvement in the air quality and visibility.

The Union ministry of earth sciences’ air quality monitor Safar said transport-level winds are likely to slow down and change direction from northwest to south-southeast on Wednesday leading to further improvement in the air quality, but within the “poor” category.

According to the Safar forecast, local surface wind speed will be relatively low for the next three days but the air quality is likely to be within the poor category for the next three days. Surface winds are likely to pick up from November 27, it said.

Schools said they were waiting for a go-ahead on the resumption of in-person classes, even as they stressed on the fact that frequent closures exacerbated hesitancy among parents who had come to believe that schools might close down again on account of inclement weather in the next few weeks.

Sudha Acharya, chairperson of the National Progressive School Conference (NPSC) and the principal of ITL Public School, Dwarka, said closure of schools tightened timetables, which could be eased had schools been allowed to reopen as soon as possible.