Following the hearing in the Supreme Court, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) issued an important order this Monday. In this order, it has been said that wherever possible, state governments should implement a hybrid model of education in schools and colleges in Delhi-NCR so that both physical and online classes can be allowed.
Students and their parents will have the option of online mode, that is, if parents want to send their children to school and do not want to, they will be able to choose the option of online classes.
This decision by the Air Quality Control Panel comes after the direction of the Supreme Court, in which the panel was asked to assess the CAQM for reopening of physical classes in schools and colleges in Delhi-NCR. After this, schools will have the option to operate schools in both physical and online mode.
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This was said in the order.
CAQM further said that pollution prevails for a long time during the winter months, generally between November and January, hence the need to implement GRAP Phase III/IV in view of the air quality being affected. Because of this, the studies of children preparing for various competitions are affected.
These students must also attend classes in physical mode to keep up with the exams. Apart from this, students also need additional classes/tuitions for board exams.
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The panel has relaxed several restrictions under Phase 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) and GRAP IV, allowing educational institutions, including schools and colleges, to operate in hybrid mode in Delhi-NCR regions.
It may be noted that the Supreme Court had agreed to consider relaxation of some of the measures currently implemented under the Graded Response Action Plan IV (GRAP IV) to reduce air pollution levels in Delhi-NCR.
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In this regard, some parents had filed a petition in the high court, saying that not all houses have clean air and not all have technical facilities available for children’s online classes. Additionally, the Delhi government had ordered closure of all schools after the air quality index (AQI) in Delhi-NCR reached the ‘above severe’ category. All classes except classes 10 and 12 have moved to online mode.
