Physical classes for students upto Class 5 can resume from December 27, the air quality panel said.New Delhi: The Delhi government has decided to open schools for Class 6 and above from tomorrow on the directions of the central air quality commission.A formal order was issued by the government after the air quality in the national capital started improving and the commission gave a go-ahead.Physical classes in schools (Class 6 onwards), colleges, educational institutions, skill development and training institutes, other training institutes and libraries in Delhi NCR can resume with immediate effect, the centre’s Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said today.Physical classes for students upto Class 5 can resume from December 27 after examining the Air Quality Index (AQI) and the winter vacation schedule, the panel added.”The state governments should follow a phased re-opening approach in respect of schools, colleges and educational institutions located within the NCR,” it said in an official order.Schools and other institutes were closed from November 15 due to the deteriorating air quality in the national capital. They re-opened on November 29 but were shut again after the Supreme Court rapped the Delhi government amid a rise in pollution levels.The decision to re-open them comes after an improvement in Delhi’s AQI from “severe” to “very poor” and after the panel received a large number of representations arguing the “compelling necessity” to open educational institutions.Several requests were submitted by students and parents saying that children have been out of school for about two years due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which has had adverse effects on their studies.One of the reasons to seek resumption of schools was that a large number of students are not able to get the facility of online education because of connectivity issues, the panel said.Following the directions of the Supreme Court, the commission has examined the requests of various organisations regarding relaxations on the restrictions imposed.
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