Children at high risk as few schools can battle air crisis

Schools were closed for 4 days from Nov 2 to Nov 5. Experts call for them to be shut again since pollution affects children the most, particularly in the mornings

NEWDELHI:ALTHOUGH the air quality in the national capital has plunged to ’severe’ levels once again on Tuesday, the Delhi government is yet to issue any advisory to schools about the suspension of classes. In the absence of any directions from the government, schools have, on their own, intensified precautionary measures such as restricting outdoor activities of students and distributing anti-pollution masks.

Director of the directorate of education (DOE) Binay Bhushan said on Tuesday that the government will not order suspension of classes. “It will not be possible for schools to suspend classes again as they are yet to complete their syllabus. This is a very crucial time for Classes 10 and 12. We have already restricted all outdoor activities for students. Mostly schools have received masks for students,” he said.

But experts say that these measures are simply not enough.

Dr JS Bhasin, senior paediatrician, BLK Hospital, said, “Mornings are the worst time for children to be outdoors, as pollution peaks around that time. Children’s airways are developing and are narrower, so they are more prone to harm from heavy pollutants. Apart from throat and lungs, the pollution also affects also their eyes and skin.”

The government had directed schools to shut for four days from November 2 to November 5 when the air quality had touched its worst levels since November 2016. On Tuesday, as Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) hit 425, with fears that it would rise over the next two days, schools prepared to cope the best they can to the air crisis.

Ritu Sawhney, principal of Sarvodya Kanya Vidyalaya (SKV) in Ramesh Nagar, said her school has placed anti-pollution plants such as areca and palm in the corridors. “We have restricted outdoor activities of students and started sprinkling water in playgrounds on a daily basis to settle the dust,” she said.

At Springdales School in Dhaula Kuan, canteen stalls and sports coaching sessions have been shifted indoors. Sanskriti School in Chanakyapuri has installed air quality monitoring systems to check pollution levels in real-time.

HT reported earlier this month that very few schools in the city have installed air purifiers. The three campuses of Shri Ram School have one purifier in each class. Chanakyapuri’s British School also has air purifiers installed in its buildings. Most of the city’s private, and almost all government, schools don’t have any adequate measures.