Schools in Noida and Greater Noida have been told to run hybrid classes for pupils up to Class 5, so parents can choose between online and in-person learning as air pollution worsens across Delhi-NCR. The order covers all government, government-aided and recognised schools in Gautam Buddh Nagar district, and it took effect at once, with classes in hybrid mode from 12 November.
The hybrid classes direction was issued by District Basic Education Officer Rahul Panwar on 7 November, after the Commission for Air Quality Management, known as CAQM, invoked Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan, or GRAP, across Delhi-NCR. The order will stay in force until further orders, and the education department has said action will be taken against schools that do not follow it.
What the hybrid classes order says
Under the hybrid classes arrangement, schools must offer pupils up to Class 5 the option of attending online or in person. The rule comes from Clause 8 (ii) of the CAQM directions, which requires schools in Delhi and in the districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar to teach classes up to Class 5 in hybrid mode, with online teaching wherever the facility is available.
Delhi’s Directorate of Education issued the same instruction for the capital on 6 November, covering all government, aided and private schools. Parents have been told to check with their child’s school for details of online classes, attendance and daily schedules, since the arrangements can differ from one school to another.
Why hybrid classes were ordered now
The order followed a sharp deterioration in air quality. Delhi’s 24-hour average air quality index reached 313 on the Wednesday covered in the reports, placing it in the very poor category, and only one of the city’s 58 monitoring stations recorded air in the severe category that day. On the morning of Monday, 9 November, Delhi’s air quality index rose to 483, in the severe category, at 8.10 am, according to Central Pollution Control Board data reported by NDTV, with at least 15 monitoring stations above 400.
Noida recorded a 24-hour average air quality index of 291 and Greater Noida recorded 257 between 4 pm on Tuesday, 10 November, and 4 pm on Wednesday, 11 November, both in the poor category. Real-time readings at some places in Noida rose above 300 during the same period, reaching the very poor category. Basic Shiksha Adhikari Rahul Panwar said the district’s air quality index had stayed above 300 and Stage III restrictions were in force, so hybrid classes were introduced for primary pupils.
Children are more exposed to polluted air than adults because they breathe faster for their body size and their lungs are still developing. The hybrid classes system is meant to cut their time outdoors on bad air days without stopping their studies altogether.
Ghaziabad schools go hybrid too
In neighbouring Ghaziabad, District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Mandar reviewed the implementation of GRAP-III measures with officials from various departments during a meeting held by video conference on 11 November. He directed the district basic education officer to ensure that schools in the district run hybrid classes up to Class 5, wherever feasible, so parents can choose between online and offline learning.
The Ghaziabad meeting also covered wider pollution control steps. All government and private construction and demolition projects in the district have been ordered to remain suspended from 5 to 20 November 2026. Officials were told to double the capacity of mechanical road sweeping and water sprinkling, and at least five teams each from the municipal corporation, the development authority, municipal bodies, the Housing Development Council and the Public Works Department will inspect sites to check that construction has stopped.
What happens if pollution gets worse
The hybrid classes rule now applies only to primary classes, and no order has been issued for pupils in Classes 6 to 12. If Delhi’s air quality index is projected to cross 450 and CAQM moves to Stage IV, known as Severe Plus, the GRAP schedule extends hybrid teaching to Classes 6 to 9 and Class 11 across the same jurisdictions.
For now, schools across Gautam Buddh Nagar serving pupils up to Class 5 must run hybrid classes under the district order, following the CAQM directions linked to GRAP-III. The arrangement stays in place while Stage III restrictions remain in force.