Like every year, this year too, India’s capital city, Delhi, is experiencing very chilly weather with foggy mornings and low temperatures. To keep children
safe, the Directorate of Education (DoE) in 2025 announced winter vacations for all schools in Delhi from January 1 to January 15. Planning ahead, this winter vacation was mentioned in the academic calendar for the 2025–26 session released in April last year. Following the orders, the government schools in the national capital are observing holiday now and will reopen on Friday, January 16. However, the fact that the order is only for government schools and private schools have reopened is irking parents. Some parents have shared their concerns on microblogging platform ‘X;. They say that while government schools are closed, a few private schools reopened on January 2, and some are planning to reopen from next week. Parents have complained that it is unfair towards the children who attend private schools. Shivangi Shrivastava, a parent of a 5-year-old daughter, told Times Now Digital that even though the schools have reopened from January 5, she is not sending her child to attend offline classes. "The only good thing that COVID did to the education sector was normalizing online learning. Now that each and every student in school is equipped, the schools do not use it in situations like these." Highlighting the smog, she says, "It is not just about the fog; pollution is making it worse. Travelling to school during early mornings becomes difficult and unsafe in cold weather." In posts shared on X, parents claimed that some private schools in areas like Saket are asking students to come to school even during the cold wave. Another parent said that while government schools remain closed, private schools are still holding classes in offline mode, forcing students to travel in freezing weather. Also Read-Delhi school holiday in January 2026 Parents believe winter holidays should be the same for all students, whether they study in government or private schools. One parent also tagged the Directorate of Education and Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, saying that the government should extend the winter vacation or make sure all schools follow the same rules. As of now, the Directorate of Education has not given any reply to these complaints. To check if schools are closed in your area or not, click here.
