Schools, colleges in Delhi to stay shut till Sunday

Delhi Parents’ Association president said the announcement should have come earlier because children leave at 6-7am for school

Amid the rising Yamuna water levels, schools and colleges will remain shut till Sunday, while employees of non-essential government offices will work from home.

Schoolgirls displaced by the rising water level in New Delhi on Thursday. (Reuters)

In a tweet at 9.40am on Thursday, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said all schools have been closed in areas flooded due to the swelling Yamuna waters. The surging water levels in the river breached a 45-year-record to touch a record high of 208.66 metres on Thursday.

However, by the time the CM’s announcement came, many students had already left for school.

Later in the day, Kejriwal said, “Schools, colleges and universities will remain closed till Sunday. All government offices, barring those that cater to essential services, will work from home. We are issuing advisories to private offices to work from home if possible.”

Meanwhile, Delhi Parents’ Association president Aprajita Gautam said the announcement should have come earlier because schoolchildren leave around 6-7am for their schools. “Many schools are conducting exams, so parents would feel compelled to send their children to school despite the floods.”

Prakash Rajput, a resident of Civil Lines, said his sons had already gone to school by the time the announcement was made. “The children called me from their teachers’ phone around 10.30am and asked me to pick them up because the school was flooded,” he said.

HT reached out to Delhi government officials who did not respond to queries regarding the parents’ complaints.

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Education (DoE) issued an order on Thursday stating that all government, government-aided and private recognised schools under the DoE will remain closed till Sunday.

By the afternoon, private schools too had issued notices regarding closure over the next few days. A notice from the principal of Mount Abu Public School said that schools will reopen on July 17. The notice asked families to prioritise their safety during this period.

Meanwhile, Delhi University’s North Campus was not affected by the floods, but nearby areas such as Mukherjee Nagar and Civil Lines were inundated.