NEW DELHI: More than 500 parents of children studying in private city schools have written to Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) seeking intervention for reopening the institutes, which have been closed due to pollution.
DCPCR chairperson Anurag Kundu confirmed the commission had received the representation.
The letter, signed by 530 people from diverse backgrounds, said, “Delhi has the dubious distinction of implementing one of the world’s longest pandemic-induced school closures, surpassed only by Uganda and Nepal as per Unesco data. After more than 600 days of closure, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) authorised the reopening of schools for all classes at 50% capacity, effective November 1. Unfortunately, this coincided with the annual pollution cycle and schools were once again closed on November 13.”
The letter said while the Delhi government allowed schools to open from November 29 in view of improved air quality, it once again closed them from December 3. “Extensive learning losses have rendered the right to education meaningless for many children,” it added.
In their letter, parents said that the benefit of closing schools to protect children from air pollution is “unclear”.
“Since air purifiers are expensive, a tiny percentage of Delhi homes will have them. Most Delhi children, therefore, breathe the same air at home – they are not benefiting from school closure. On the contrary, they are suffering further learning and health losses,” they said in the letter.
Pointing out that DCPCR had been active in the matter of Covid-19 vaccination for pregnant and lactating women, the letter said: “The present matter concerns our children’s fundamental rights and welfare, and the discussion in the Supreme Court has so far not focused on this aspect.”
The parents further said they hoped that an intervention by DCPCR will help the SC and other authorities in the capital “strike the correct balance between the rights and well-being of Delhi’s children and other considerations”.
Several parents had made a representation to the lieutenant governor in this regard earlier as well. DCPCR had also written to the LG and DDMA seeking reopening of schools and highlighting the adverse impact on students’ learning outcomes if they remain closed for too long.
