No Wi-Fi, limited phones: How Delhi hybrid schooling due to high AQI is a struggle for students, teachers, parents
Delhi AQI: With only one smartphone at home, a Mayur Vihar resident planned to send her Class 5 daughter to school and keep her Class 2 son online.
Delhi woke up to another grey morning on Monday as thick smog pushed the city’s average AQI to 359 — but for many families, the bigger struggle wasn’t just the polluted air. The Delhi government’s decision to shift Classes up to 5 to hybrid mode from November 11 under GRAP-III measures has left parents, teachers and students juggling confusion, logistics and uneven access to digital tools.
Teachers say the sudden switch has also reopened the deep digital divide they grappled with during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Our teachers don’t have laptops or tablets and that’s a basic requirement for online classes,” said a teacher at an MCD school in Mandoli.
Many families still share one phone among three children, she added.
No Wi-Fi infrastructure
Even basic connectivity is a challenge. “We don’t have a WiFi-enabled campus, and the dongle we have is sometimes recharged and sometimes not, so teachers rely on their mobile data,” the MCD school teacher said.
With only one smartphone at home, Mayur Vihar resident Pinki Soni planned to send her Class 5 daughter to school and keep her Class 2 son online. But no online class link arrived.
“A day passed after the notification and the link for online classes weren’t shared on the group. When I asked the teacher, he said classes will start once they get instructions from higher-ups, and shared a few simple assignments for students,” she told HT.
The next morning, she sent both children to school despite the smog.
Her story mirrors that of many parents who say the circular has created more uncertainty than clarity.
Many prefer offline mode
With Anand Vihar recording an AQI of 383 on Monday, Manisha said she learned about hybrid classes only through news reports. Her daughter studies in Class 2 in a government school in the area.
“I heard in the news that schools will run online and offline sessions. But I did not receive any message regarding this from my daughter’s school,” she said. She sent her daughter to school on November 13 and 14 as she always does.
Private school parents aren’t spared this dilemma either. Seema Shukla, whose daughter studies in Class V at Bal Bharti School, Dwarka, said, she is “sending her to school with an N95 mask.”
Meanwhile, schools say they are struggling to run classes in dual mode. “The teachers have to focus on the majority of students in the class as well as pay attention to those studying from home. They are overburdened and are confused whether to focus on the class or the camera,” said Jyoti Arora, principal of Mount Abu Public School, Rohini.
She estimated nearly 90% of students continue to attend in person. Arora said installing air purifiers is becoming unavoidable.
Government schools say physical attendance is also high except for children with respiratory issues, and online sessions are being limited.
Government says support being provided
Delhi education minister Ashish Sood said the government is following directives to protect students’ health. He said schools have been instructed to prepare proper timetables for online classes and make the best use of available digital infrastructure.
“Internet access and essential digital support is being facilitated at the school level,” he added.
Under GRAP-III, the Delhi government and NCR districts have been directed to alter how primary classes run. The order mandates that classes up to Class V must operate in a “hybrid mode,” combining physical and online teaching “wherever online mode is feasible.”
Delhi AQI remains dangerous
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), there was little relief from Sunday’s AQI of 385, but the overall air quality remained in the “very poor” category.
Bawana continued to be the worst-affected with an AQI of 427, while NSIT Dwarka remained on the lower end at 225. Popular areas such as India Gate and Kartavya Path were blanketed in a toxic haze, recording an AQI of 341.
Other locations also reported similar stress: Chandni Chowk (383), RK Puram (366), ITO (394), Punjabi Bagh (384), Patparganj (369), Pusa (365) and Dwarka Sector-8 (356). Anand Vihar, too, registered 383.
The cold added to the discomfort, temperatures hovered around 9°C, making it the coldest November morning since 2022.
(With inputs from Gargi Shukla)
