Online classes, offline office: Working parents in Delhi-NCR juggle pollution challenges
economictimes.indiatimes.comonline classes due to high pollution levels has caused difficulties for working parents. Adjusting their schedules has become challenging, especially with many companies resuming full-time office work. Some parents are requesting leaves or the option to work from home, while others are seeking help from relatives to look after their children.
Most parents were not prepared for this sudden change. The Gurgaon administration announced online classes for students from nursery to fifth standard, while in Noida and Ghaziabad, only students from classes 10-12 will attend school.
Sadiya Fatma, an IT professional from Sector 52 in Gurgaon, had to send her six-year-old child to her sister-in-law's house as neither she nor her husband could manage working from home. «This situation is different from the pandemic when we could assist our children with online classes, no matter how troublesome it was for us,» she said.
Young students in primary classes are struggling to use electronic devices on their own.
Leaving them unsupervised at home is not an option. Adhiraj Pradhan, who works in the home loan department of a bank, shared his experience, saying, «It's unrealistic to expect a five-year-old to sit silently through a 40-minute session. As I worked on my laptop, I realized how difficult it was for them to study independently.
I could hear the teacher asking him to call an elder family member to mute the session. He was singing a nursery rhyme throughout.»
The last-minute decision has also left students without their textbooks at home. Most private schools discourage students from carrying textbooks to reduce the weight of school bags.
