Delhi Pollution: Primary schools, outdoor activities to resume from today

NEW DELHI: Primary schools in Delhi will reopen and outdoor activities will resume from today as Delhi air pollution situation has improved over the days.

After a high-level meeting on Monday, the environment minister, Gopal Rai, had said, “Primary schools in Delhi were closed and open activities of classes senior to them were stopped. From November 9, primary schools will open, and the ban on open activities is being lifted.”

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School principals have welcomed Delhi government's decision to restart primary classes from today following improvement in air quality even as environmentalists warned against "knee-jerk reactions".

"The overall education system has already been significantly disrupted during the pandemic where the country witnessed a long closure of schools. Shifting from offline to online mode was well adopted by the teachers and students. But the situation took a toll on the mental well-being of the students. Now, the schools getting closed due to deteriorating air quality is another setback for the education system," said Alka Kapur, Principal, Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh.

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However, environmentalist Vimlendu Jha said it could be too soon to revoke curbs as the air quality has improved a wee bit due to favourable wind speed and will go back to the "severe" category in a couple of days.

Schools have taken several measures to protect children, including introduction of breathing exercises in classes and mental and emotional wellbeing sessions.

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The air quality index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded in the 'very poor' category for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday morning, even as the weatherman has forecast light rain or drizzle later in the day.

The Delhi government on November 4 announced that primary schools in the national capital will remain shut from Saturday till further orders while outdoor activities will be curtailed for senior classes amid worsening air quality in the city.