Amid rising concerns over deteriorating air quality, the Directorate of Education in Delhi has issued a directive for all schools to transition to online teaching for all grade levels except Classes 10 and 12. The Delhi government has mandated this transition until November 10, taking into account the severe air pollution levels in the region. For Classes 10 and 12, school administrators retain the discretion to choose between physical or virtual classes.

The official notice from the Directorate of Education reads, “In view of the implementation of the stage 4 graded response action plan order issued by CAQM, it is ordered that all classes – except the board classes – X and XII in all schools of Delhi shall be held online up to 10.11.2023.”

Under this arrangement, teachers will be required to conduct online classes from their respective school premises. Regarding the board classes (Class 10 and 12), the Heads of Schools (HoS) have the flexibility to decide whether to continue classes online or to convene physical classes at the school.

School administrators have been instructed to promptly communicate these arrangements to parents of students. Notably, the Delhi government had previously ordered the closure of primary schools (Classes 1 to 5) until November 10 and permitted the transition to online teaching for secondary and senior secondary classes. The initial closure of all government and private primary schools on November 3 and November 4 was in response to the Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching the severe category.