All classes, except Class 11 and 12, in all schools of the Capital will be mandatorily conducted online till November 10, the Delhi government’s Directorate of Education (DoE) stated in an order on Monday. However, the DoE has given an option to schools to conduct offline or online classes for board students.
The order comes amid concerns regarding the impact of toxic air on health, especially of children, as the city continues to record dangerously high levels of pollution.
On Monday, it logged an air quality index (AQI) of 421, which falls in the “severe “ air quality category of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
The DoE has said in its order that teachers should come to school to conduct online classes.
Following the order, a number of school principals said they would opt to conduct offline classes for students preparing for board examinations.
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“It is an important time as all students are preparing for exams. In addition to this, we have to figure out how to send buses on nine routes for a few students,” said Alka Kapur, principal of Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh, who opined that online classes are not as effective.
Sudha Acharya, principal of ITL Public School and Chairperson of National Progressive Schools’ Conference, said that it is not feasible for any private school to ply buses for only students of classes 10 and 12.
Meanwhile, principals of government schools and some parents said that children’s education might take a hit as not everybody has a mobile phone.
A principal of a government school, who did not want to be named, said, “Around 60-70% of our students have access to mobile phones. Many of these students were impacted during the pandemic. We are planning on making arrangements for the students who do not have phones by delivering written material to them…”
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Parents too, remained apprehensive of the shift to online classes. Satya Prakash, Delhi president of the All India Parents’ Association, opined that suspension of classes is only a stopgap measures, and schools should arrange air purifiers in classes.
Aprajita Gautam, president of the Delhi Parents’ Association said, “Firstly, all students do not have mobile phones. Even if they have phones at home, parents do not want to leave their children unsupervised, hence they have to choose between going to work or staying at home with the children.”
Monday’s order was issued in supersession of the Sunday order in which the DoE gave heads of schools the option to choose between online or offline classes from Classes 6 onwards.
Experts said that the DoE’s move was rational, as pollution can have drastic impact on children’s health. Dr Meena J, senior consultant (paediatrics and neonatology) Aakash Healthcare said, “Air pollution, primarily from vehicle emissions and industrial sources, can lead to respiratory problems, asthma, and even cognitive impairments in children. Prolonged exposure to pollutants like fine particulate matter and volatile organic compounds can hinder their lung development.”
Prof Dr. G C Khilnani Chairman, PSRI Institute of Pulmonary, Critical care and Sleep Medicine said, “Studies show that one in three children in Delhi have asthma. They go to school early in the morning and travel in buses. Smog and pollutants can trigger asthma.”
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