Schools, Colleges In Delhi To Reopen From November 29 As Air Quality Improves

The physical classes for students of colleges and school children in Delhi will resume from Monday, November 29 due to improvement in the air quality. Delhi's Environment Minister Gopal Rai stated that Delhi's air quality is improving now and the schools, colleges, and educational institutions in Delhi will reopen on November 29th.

The decision was made following a review meeting conducted by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Admi Party (AAP) on the present pollution condition in the National Capital. Experts who attended the meeting were to make a decision on whether or not to reopen schools, universities, and other educational institutions.

The national capital closed schools, educational institutes, and offices for a week due to an increase in air pollution. Despite the fact that the situation in Delhi has improved over the last week, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi on Wednesday morning was 280 (overall), placing it in the 'poor' category.

Requesting help in getting schools reopened, a group of 140 parents in the national capital had written to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal. On November 1, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority authorised the reopening of schools for all classes in Delhi at 50% capacity, after a 20-month closure.

'The first victim of the pollution response was our children's education, with one-week school closures declared on November 13. While considering the seriousness of the pollution situation and the danger it poses to our children's health, we strongly ask the Delhi government to reconsider its decision and reopen schools,' stated the letter.

Meanwhile, the university and college students were also calling for a reopening. A group of students organised an online protest to demand that Delhi University be reopened.

On Sunday, the Directorate of Education (DoE) announced that schools in Delhi will stay shut for physical classes till further directives are issued, however, online classes and board exams will continue. Due to the city's poor air quality, the Delhi government announced the closure of schools and universities on November 13. After over 19 months of closure due to COVID-19, schools reopened for all classes on November 1.

Due to the rising air pollution levels, schools in Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat, and Jhajjar were also closed last week.