New Delhi, Dec 13: Despite various school bodies and parents demanding the government to reopen the schools in the union territory, the Delhi government has stated that it has no plans to start the offline classes with immediate effects.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said the decision on reopening schools will be only taken after the Christmas-New Year vacation is over.
The Delhi government ordered the closure of all schools in the national capital till further orders on December 2 because of an increase in the air pollution levels.
"We had reopened the schools considering the forecast that air quality would improve. However, the air pollution levels have increased again and we have decided to shut schools from Friday till further orders," Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai had said.
After remaining shut for two weeks in November, physical classes in schools, colleges and other educational institutions had resumed on 29 November. However, its decision to reopen the schools despite rising air pollution came under severe criticism.
While expressing concerns over the measures taken by the government to reduce the pollution, the court stated that the Delhi government had assured that the schools will not be reopened till further orders. "We are serious about industrial and vehicular pollution. You cannot fire bullets from our shoulders, you have to take steps. Why are schools open? " the apex court asked the Delhi government.
However, the school bodies and parents have not been with the development claiming that the benefits of shutting schools due to air pollution is unclear, over 500 parents wrote to the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPC) as per The Indian Express.
"We request the DCPCR, as the custodian of rights of Delhi's children, to please file an application for intervention in Aditya Dubey (minor) & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors to place on record the extreme costs of prolonged school closures for our children. We hope that your intervention in this matter will assist the Supreme Court of India and relevant Delhi authorities (including the Lt-Governor and the elected Delhi government) in striking the correct balance between rights and well-being of Delhi's children and other considerations," the report added.