India

Delhi Mandates Hybrid Learning for Class 5 and Below as Air Quality Deteriorates

By Bhanu Pratap

The Delhi Directorate of Education has ordered all government, government‑aided, recognised private schools, and schools run by the New Delhi Municipal Council, Municipal Corporation of Delhi and Delhi Cantonment Board to conduct classes up to Class 5 in hybrid mode. Students may attend in person or online, depending on their convenience, and online classes will be offered where the hybrid arrangement is feasible.

The directive follows the Commission for Air Quality Management’s decision to invoke Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across the Delhi‑NCR region with immediate effect. GRAP Stage III imposes restrictions on dust‑generating construction and demolition, limits certain categories of vehicles, and implements measures to curb emissions from industrial and other sources.

Hybrid classes for students up to Class 5 have also been made mandatory in Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar, which includes Noida and Greater Noida. Other NCR districts may adopt similar arrangements depending on local air‑quality conditions.

School authorities have been instructed to inform parents and guardians about the new arrangement without delay. Deputy Directors of Education in each district and zone have been asked to visit schools to verify implementation.

The order comes a day before Diwali, as Delhi’s air quality remains in the ‘very poor’ category. On Saturday at 9:05 am, the Central Pollution Control Board recorded an Air Quality Index of 364. Particulate matter PM2.5 dominated at 53 of 59 monitoring stations. The CPCB classifies AQI levels of 301–400 as ‘very poor’, above 400 as ‘severe’, 201–300 as ‘poor’, 101–200 as ‘moderate’, 51–100 as ‘satisfactory’ and 0–50 as ‘good’.