Haryana School Closed: Schools closed in Haryana due to two big reasons, classes will run online from Monday

Due to the level of pollution and persistent fog and haze in different cities of Haryana, the government has decided to close schools up to class five. This decision has been taken keeping in mind the health of small children. Schools will remain closed till further orders. Online classes for children will be conducted. The Directorate of Education has given this instruction to the Deputy Commissioners (DM) and DCs of all the districts. The order will come into effect from Monday, November 18. The Haryana government has issued a letter to all the Deputy Commissioners of the state ordering the closure of schools. As per Graded Response Action Plan Three (GRAP-3), schools up to class 5 will remain closed due to severe air quality index. The government has decided that the Deputy Commissioners of the districts should assess the current situation in view of the serious AQI level in Delhi and surrounding areas.

Separate evaluation of rural and urban areas!

In the letter issued to DCs of all the districts of the state, it was said that in the interest of health and safety of children, government and private schools should be kept closed till class five. Instead, necessary guidelines should be issued for conducting online classes. At the same time, rural and urban areas of the respective districts can be evaluated separately. There will be no harm to children’s education due to online classes and the syllabus can be completed on time.

Last year too, a holiday was declared in schools when pollution reached the dangerous category. The move aims to protect children from pollution and ensure their health safety.

Fog and pollution levels in Haryana

There is dense fog in 12 districts of Haryana. Visibility is less than 50 meters in Sirsa, Fatehabad and Hisar areas of Rajasthan in western Haryana. Whereas in Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Karnal, Rewari, Jhajjar, Gurugram, Faridabad, Rohtak, Sonipat, Panipat, Jind and Charkhi Dadri, visibility is 50 to 100 meters. The Meteorological Department has issued orange and yellow alert of fog in Haryana till November 16. The maximum AQI has crossed 400 in 11 cities of the state. Jind’s AQI has reached 500. Which means that the person breathing here is inhaling smoke equivalent to smoking 20 to 25 cigarettes in a day.

Graded response system has been implemented in Haryana, in which various restrictions are imposed depending on the AQI level. When AQI goes above 200, the first phase of GRAP is implemented. If it crosses 300 then the second phase is implemented. When AQI crosses 400, Gap-3 comes into force.

At present, Grap-3 has been implemented in Haryana, under which many activities have been banned. The impact of pollution on children and other vulnerable groups can be severe. Haze and smog conditions have affected the urban areas more, affecting the daily activities of the people. The decision to close schools was taken to give priority to the safety and health of children.

District Deputy Commissioner will take the final decision

However, implementation of the decision will remain under the jurisdiction of the District Deputy Commissioner. The Director General of the Basic Education Department has written a letter to all the District Deputy Commissioners that in view of the serious air quality index, they should take a spontaneous decision to close classes from first to fifth. It is clear from the Directorate of School Education that instructions were issued by the government. The decision to close schools should be taken after assessing the deteriorating air quality index in Delhi and surrounding areas. In case of poor air quality, classes from first to fifth should be conducted online.