Primary schools in Gurugram shut amid rising air pollution

Amid rising air pollution in Delhi and NCR, the Gurugram administration on Monday ordered temporarily closing of primary schools in the district from November 19 till further orders.

“In the interest of the health and safety of the children, it has been decided that all classes up to 5th standard will remain discontinued from 19.11.2024 to till further order in all areas (urban as well as rural) of district”, reads the order issued by Gurugram deputy commissioner.

“Online classes will be conducted in lieu of physical classes in all government and private schools in the district,” said the order.

It also mentioned that the air quality index (AQI) in Gurugram was analysed on November 17 and 18, which showed it in ‘very poor’ category and deteriorated to ‘severe’ category in some areas of the district in last 24 hours.

The decision comes two days after the Haryana Government authorised deputy commissioners to temporarily shut physical classes up to Class 5 in schools in their respective districts after assessing the situation in the wake of rising pollution levels.