All schools up to Class 5 in Delhi will switch to online learning till further directions in view of rising pollution levels in the city, Chief Minister Atishi said on Thursday (November 14, 2024).
With pollution reaching alarming levels, the central pollution watchdog CAQM imposed restrictions under GRAP Stage III in Delhi-NCR earlier on Thursday (November 14, 2024).
"Due to rising pollution levels, all primary schools in Delhi will be shifting to online classes, until further directions," Atishi, who also holds the education portfolio, said in a post on X.
The Directorate of Education (DoE) has asked the heads of all government, private, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) schools to discontinue offline classes for children up to Class 5.
“All the heads of government, aided and unaided, private recognised schools of the DoE, MCD, and NDMC in Delhi are hereby directed to discontinue physical classes in schools for children up to Class 5,” it said in a statement.
The DoE has also instructed the heads of schools to ensure classes in online mode for students of these classes till further orders.
The national capital's air quality remained in the 'severe' category for a second consecutive day, prompting the authorities to impose the stringent anti-pollution measures.
The restrictions will come into force on Friday (November 15, 2024).
Measures under the third stage of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) announced by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) include shifting schools up to Class 5 to online mode.
GRAP for the National Capital Region (NCR) is classified under four different stages of adverse air quality in Delhi: Stage I — ‘poor’ (AQI 201-300); Stage II — ‘very poor’ (AQI 301-400); Stage III — ‘severe’ (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV — ‘severe plus’ (AQI >450).
Published - November 14, 2024 09:39 pm IST
