All government and private schools in the national capital city, Delhi, have been ordered to remain shut till further notice. This directive has been issued
for students who are enrolled in Nursery till Class 5. The decision has been taken keeping in mind the increasing level of air pollution in Delhi NCR. As per the official notification released by the Directorate of Education (DoE) today (December 15), schools can now only conduct online classes for students upto class 5. Also Read | Delhi Schools Tomorrow Live Updates: Are Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad Schools Closed on 16th December Due to Pollution? "In view of the prevailing high AQI levels in Delhi, it has been decided that classes in physical mode for students of Nursery to Class V are discontinued till further orders for all Government, Government Aided and Unaided Private Recognized Schools of Delhi. All Heads of Schools are hereby directed to ensure classes in online mode for the students of these classes," the official notification from Directorate of Education (DoE) stated. On Saturday evening, the Delhi government had directed schools to offer students the option of hybrid classes, i.e. students were given the option of attending classes offline (physically) or online. This was announced as Delhi government announced implementation of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage 4 -- a few hours after implementing GRAP 3. Under this, all private and government schools were instructed to hold classes until Class 11 (except Class 10) in hybrid mode - both physical and online. However, considering that the Air Quality Index (AQI) has deteriorated further, the Rekha Gupta led government has decided to suspend all offline classes for students upto class 5. Also Read | Delhi Chokes Again: How Much Do You Really Know About AQI? "Accordingly, all the Heads of Government, Government Aided and Unaided Private Recognized Schools of Delhi are hereby directed to follow these guidelines and disseminate this information to the parents and guardians of the students immediately," the official notice added. "All DDE (Zone/Districts) are also requested to ensure smooth compliance with the above directions." Additionally, all government and private offices have also been instructed to only call 50 per cent of the workforce to the office, and give work from home (WFH) to the remaining 50 per cent. Also Read | ‘AQI, AQI’ Chants Greet Delhi CM Rekha Gupta at Lionel Messi Show in Arun Jaitley Stadium, Video Viral
