Delhi schools prohibit some activities, attendance drops

Attendance has begun falling amid growing concerns that the worsening air quality can impact the health of children, the administrators of several schools have said, barely a fortnight after children began in-person learning after a gap of over one-and-a-half years

Attendance has begun falling amid growing concerns that the worsening air quality can impact the health of children, the administrators of several schools have said, barely a fortnight after children began in-person learning after a gap of over one-and-a-half years.

PM2.5 pollutants, which are now over five times the safe limit, can penetrate deep into the lungs and lead to lasting health damage. (Raj K Raj/HT)

Children are among the most vulnerable to air pollution, which is at its worst – the air quality index was at 471 at 3pm and the concentrations of poisonous PM2.5 particulate matter has been above the “emergency” threshold of 300 micrograms per cubic metre of air since 1am on Friday. PM2.5 pollutants, which are now over five times the safe limit, can penetrate deep into the lungs and lead to lasting health damage.

Parents are now worried students will be more vulnerable to respiratory diseases. “Parents in Delhi are facing two kinds of dilemma. First are existing concerns of Covid-19 infection and now it is the severe air quality. Many schools are still holding unit tests and parents are forced to send their children to school despite not wanting to. Many children have asthma, allergies, or even allergic bronchitis which worsens during the pollution season. Going to school in such a scenario is harmful to their health but there is little that parents can do,” said Aprajita Gautam, president of the Delhi Parents’ Association.

A Commission for Air Quality Management(CAQM) sub-committee, after a meeting on Friday, advised citizens to limit outdoor activities and exposure.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority, which issues guidelines pertaining to Covid-19, has encouraged schools to continue with online learning. Several schools said they are working on reducing the number of classes and in-person lessons till the pollution levels are in control.

“We had resumed in-person classes only for classes 9 to 12 so far and classes 6 to 8 will start on Monday. Even in middle school, less than 50% of the parents agreed to send their children to school due to several factors including pollution. While deciding on reopening, we had kept various factors in mind including the pollution levels and the Covid-19 situation after Diwali,” said Madhulika Sen, senior adviser at Tagore International School, where several parents approach school authorities thanking them for not reopening completely.

The school is planning to reopen for nursery to class 5 in January and is holding staggered in-person only for the middle school and senior section.

School administrators said they have limited some activities but closing schools may not be on the radar for now. “We have reduced physical activities such as yoga and others in our playground. But when children have come back to school after nearly 20 months, it would not be prudent to close schools and send them back home. We are not planning on closing schools for now because addressing the learning gap is extremely important right now,” said Sudha Acharya, the chairperson of the National Progressive Schools’ Conference which has over 120 top Delhi schools under it. Schools have reduced the duration for which students would have to stay on school premises, she added.

Laksh Vir Sehgal, principal of Bal Bharati Public School, GRH Marg, said, “The attendance in classes 4 and 5 is around 20-25%. The dip in air quality affects the health of children and in the previous years too, if the pollution levels increased, the attendance would decrease. This time around the attendance is low across all classes and the pollution levels are one of the reasons among it along with Covid-19 concerns. Since schools are working for a shorter period of time, there are no outdoor activities and we are ensuring that students say in the classrooms.”