School Closed Due to Pollution? How GRAP Decides, Class by Class
Part of: Schools and admissions
Where things stand on 9 November 2026: GRAP Stage III has been in force across Delhi NCR since 6 November. Classes up to Class 5 are hybrid in Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida: the school runs in person and online, and parents choose. For today’s position, city by city, see Is school open tomorrow?, which we check against the official orders.
Every November the same question goes round the parents’ groups late at night: is school closed due to pollution tomorrow? The answer depends on a rulebook called GRAP and on how each state turns it into an order. Here is how it works, in the order things happen.
Who decides when schools go hybrid
- The air quality commission (CAQM) picks the stage. GRAP, the Graded Response Action Plan, has four stages, set by Delhi’s air quality index. The commission does not wait for the AQI to cross a line: its rules say a stage can be brought in ahead of time when forecasts show the air getting worse and staying bad. That is why Stage III, meant for AQI 401 to 450, was brought in this year at an AQI in the high 300s.
- The stage tells state governments what to do. For schools, the GRAP schedule says which classes must move to hybrid and where.
- Each state or district issues its own order. In Delhi that is the Directorate of Education, and its orders cover government, aided and recognised private schools. In Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad the order comes from the state or the district administration.
- Your school sends its own message. Private schools usually confirm on the app or by SMS, often late in the evening. That message is the one to act on.
What each GRAP stage means for schools
This is the current GRAP schedule, revised by the commission on 29 September 2026. Each stage keeps everything from the stages before it.
| Stage | AQI | Schools |
|---|---|---|
| I Poor | 201–300 | Nothing for schools |
| II Very Poor | 301–400 | Nothing for schools |
| III Severe | 401–450 | Classes up to 5 must be hybrid in Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida and Greater Noida). Other NCR districts may do the same. |
| IV Severe+ | 450+ | Classes 6 to 9 and Class 11 also go hybrid in the same five areas. States may also consider closing colleges and other educational institutions. |
Two things parents often miss. First, Classes 10 and 12 are not on the list at any stage, so board classes keep going to school unless a separate order says otherwise. Second, hybrid is not a closure: the school stays open, and the GRAP rules say the choice of online classes “shall vest with the students and their guardians”.
What happened in past years
The rules have changed almost every year, so older news reports can mislead. This is what was actually ordered in Delhi:
| When | What schools did |
|---|---|
| Nov 2023 | Delhi brought the winter break forward to 9 to 18 November because of the smog. |
| 18 Nov 2024 | With Stage IV in force, Delhi stopped in-person classes for every class except 10 and 12. About a week later the commission allowed hybrid classes for all, and schools reopened in hybrid mode. |
| Dec 2024 | Stage IV came back on 16 December; Delhi put primary classes, up to Class 5, on hybrid. |
| Nov 2025 | From 11 to 26 November, Stage III: hybrid up to Class 5. Physical classes resumed on 27 November, the day after the commission lifted Stage III. |
| 13 Dec 2025 | Stage IV: Delhi moved classes up to 9, and Class 11, to hybrid. Classes 10 and 12 stayed in school. The same day the commission asked all NCR states to stop outdoor sports in schools at once. |
| 6 Nov 2026 | Stage III: hybrid up to Class 5, in force as we write. |
Outdoor sports and assemblies
After the Supreme Court raised the issue in November 2025, the commission asked NCR governments to put off school sports competitions planned for November and December, and in December 2025 to stop outdoor sports activity altogether. Those letters were tied to last winter’s air. This year, check your school’s circular: many schools move assembly and PE indoors on bad days whether or not an order says so.
Questions parents ask
Can I keep my child at home when classes are hybrid?
Yes, for the classes covered. Hybrid means the school offers both, and the GRAP text leaves the choice of online to the student and parents. Tell the class teacher so attendance is marked the right way.
My child is in Class 6. Does Stage III apply?
No. Stage III covers classes up to 5. Class 6 to 9 and Class 11 move to hybrid only at Stage IV, unless your state or district orders more.
We live in Noida but the school is in Delhi. Whose order counts?
The order for the place where the school is. A Delhi school follows the Delhi Directorate of Education, even if you live in Noida or Gurgaon.
Will exams be postponed?
GRAP does not mention exams. Schools decide, sometimes with a separate order from the education department, so watch the school’s circulars in exam weeks.
How quickly do orders come out?
Usually within a day of the commission changing the stage, and often in the evening. Stages can also be lifted quickly when the wind picks up, so a hybrid spell may last only a few days.
A small checklist for smog season
- Keep the school app’s notifications on, and check it after 7 pm on bad-air days.
- Have one device charged and logged in to the school’s online platform, so a hybrid morning is not a scramble.
- On Stage III and IV days, the commission’s own advice to citizens is to cut down outdoor activity, so plan indoor play.
- Bookmark Is school open tomorrow? for the current stage, city by city.
Winter cold and fog bring their own closures in January. We have those, city by city, in Winter vacation 2026-27: school dates by city.
Sources: CAQM GRAP schedule (revision of 29.09.2026); PIB, Stage III order, 11 November 2025; news reports of the Delhi Directorate of Education’s circulars of 18 November 2024, 17 December 2024, 11 and 27 November 2025, 13 December 2025 and 6 November 2026, and of the commission’s letters on school sports of 19 November and 13 December 2025.
