India, Nov. 21 -- Despite Gurugram deputy commissioner (DC) Ajay Kumar's order on November 13 directing all schools to conduct classes up to Grade 5 in hybrid mode, teachers reported that most of the government primary schools continued to operate offline.

Officials said the decision was taken in view of air quality level hovering between 'very poor' and 'poor' categories for consecutive days.

This week, Gurugram's AQI crossed the 300-mark and the situation stayed critical amid stagnant winds and accelerating pollution.

"No classes were held online even for a single day. The district education officer asked the government schools to continue in physical mode, despite the high AQI and smog," said Ashok Prajapati, district president of R...