Delhi's smog prevents kids from playing or going to school

 Delhi's smog prevents kids from playing or going to school

"Mum, could I just play for a little while longer?"

Pakhi Khanna, the mother of six-year-old Vanraj, is preparing herself to cope with that refrain for the next several days in Delhi, the capital of India. The 38-year-old has restricted her son's outside playtime to 30 minutes from two hours; his lessons have transferred online this week, and football coaching has been canceled off.

Vanraj is among hundreds of pupils in Delhi whose timetables have been modified owing to air pollution increasing to dangerous levels. Over the last several days, Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) - which measures the quantity of PM 2.5 or tiny particulate matter in the air - has repeatedly surpassed the 450 mark, over 10 times the permitted limit. Lung experts say breathing this harmful air is like smoking 25–30 cigarettes a day.

Things are so terrible that Delhi's Environment Minister Gopal Rai has urged all schools to stay shut till Friday, with offline lessons only for high students. Delhi's education has been hampered by air pollution before; for the last four to five years, this has happened every winter.

In actuality, there has been a rise in the number of days when air pollution has forced schools to close. Classes are now interrupted for at least six days at a time, according to Shariq Ahmad, the head of a government school in south Delhi's Kalkaji.

Experts and parents are worried about how these sudden disruptions to daily schedules and education would affect kids, particularly because school calendars had just returned to normal after the Covid-19 outbreak.

As usual, families with less resources face more challenges.

Deepa, a single mother who works as a domestic helper, claims that her boys don't learn well from the internet. Abhishek, 12, in the seventh grade, as well as Prasanna, 10, in the fifth grade, study at a government school.

Teachers have been sending pictures of worksheets for students to complete in the morning via email, and since Friday, the school has urged students to study at home. However, Deepa's family does not possess a laptop; instead, the kids can only access their coursework in the afternoon when their mother, who cleans and prepares for numerous households, brings them her cell phone.

Without assistance from instructors, she claims that her boys find it difficult to comprehend the material.

"I worry that this will all influence their performance in the examinations next month," Deepa said. "I would like to have it if my children wore masks along with went to school," she continues.

However, even masks are not very effective in protecting against Delhi's extreme pollution.

For their three-year-old daughter Mira, Anant Mehra and his wife have totally stopped letting her play outside. They say it's frustrating to persuade a three-year-old to sit in front of a computer for hours, but they are also delighted that her nursery sessions are now online.

Mr. Mehra adds that Mira is agitated and restless since she is confined to her house. "She misses her friends; she appreciates the play-based instruction she does in school," he adds. Because he and his spouse have a hybrid work style and have planned their schedule around Mira's nursery hours, her presence at home affects their working day as well.

"Stopping classes abruptly like that this is just not viable, for schools, students or parents," adds Mr. Mehra. "The government needs to do something to mitigate environmental pollution, and soon."

While Mira and Vanraj know that they are being barred from going outdoors due to "bad air", both of them don't completely comprehend the hazards of inhaling poisonous air. For them, playing, making friends, and enjoying themselves is constantly impeded by air pollution.

"As a parent, I want maintain my child safe, but I also don't want to scare him in or make him constantly worry concerning the air he's breathing," adds Ms Khanna. "So I have to strike a fine balance during my explain to him why he can't do particular things."

Staff are also being impacted by the inconvenience. One teacher, who teaches environmental studies and English to kids ages seven to ten, claims that the abrupt announcement of online classes has derailed her plans.

Suddenly, she has to choose online classes that cover shorter, more easily understood themes, and then assign homework for her kids to do at home. However, she notes that because many kids find it difficult to learn online, she will need to repeat similar teachings when traditional classrooms start up again.

The instructor, who wished to remain anonymous, stated, "We have a lot of pressure to finish the syllabus on top of this."

People like Shreya Nidhi, who looks for her 14-year-old brother Umang, express disappointment in the government and the way pollution interferes with her brother's education on an annual basis. She had prevented him from going to school, even if it meant missing examinations, prior to the government's decision to close schools.

Umang was angry and upset about this since he was concerned about how skipping tests might impact his school year.

But his health is more important to me. We have to take these drastic steps to safeguard our loved ones given that the government isn't doing any action to stop air pollution," she adds.