Supreme Court orders hybrid mode for all schools in Delhi-NCR due to worsening air quality

As per the Supreme Court's orders, the state Directorate of Education (DoE) has mandated that all schools in Delhi-NCR operate in hybrid mode for all students, effective immediately until further orders are issued.

The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) tests showed that the air quality had deteriorated again on the morning of Nov 26, rising to 396.

"Clause 11 of GRAP Stage-III, Clause 5 of GRAP Stage-IV, and Clause 8 of GRAP Stage-IV (to the extent it relates to colleges and educational institutions) are relaxed to the extent that state governments in the NCR and GNCTD shall ensure that all classes up to 12th standard in schools and those in colleges/educational institutions are conducted in a 'hybrid' mode, i.e., both in 'physical' and also in an 'online' mode, wherever online mode is feasible, in the territorial jurisdiction of the NCT of Delhi and in the districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Buddh Nagar in the NCR,” reads a notification issued by the Directorate of Education (DoE), Government of Delhi.

“The option to exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians," it added.

Since many students lacked midday meals and the necessary infrastructure to attend online classes, the Supreme Court on Nov 25 urged the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the Delhi region and surrounding areas to think about resuming physical classes in schools and colleges.

However, the top court declined to loosen Delhi-NCR's anti-pollution GRAP-IV limits, saying that it could not impose curbs below GRAP-III or GRAP-II unless it was certain that the AQI levels were consistently declining.

Since many of the students were "deprived" of midday meals and lacked access to online learning and air purifiers at home, a division bench made up of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih ruled that the decision should be revisited.

Parents of children with special needs and marginalized groups submitted an application on Nov 22 to resume physical classes.

They argued that many families from lower socioeconomic classes are deprived of online education because they lack access to the internet and electronic devices.

Regarding the relaxation of additional limitations in Delhi-NCR, the bench said that it cannot lower other Graded Response Action (GRAP) measures from level IV to III or II until it is satisfied with the improvement in air quality.