NEW DELHI: As Delhi braces for another season of toxic air, concerns among parents are mounting over whether schools are adequately prepared to protect children from worsening pollution.Parents are worried that young children, particularly those in nursery classes, remain vulnerable to prolonged exposure to polluted air, even inside classrooms where they are expected to be safe. At some prominent schools, questions over indoor air quality are prompting families to take matters into their own hands.
Parents argue that schools should ensure safe air quality without relying on contributions.
According to a social media post, at one Delhi-NCR school, parents plan to pool funds to buy air purifiers for nursery classrooms, and have questioned why the school is not buying the equipment itself. The post added that as per the school, its air-conditioning systems had HEPA filters that could address dust to some extent. When the parents also asked what had happened to the purifiers used the previous year, the school said the devices moved up with students as they progressed to higher grades, leaving younger children’s classrooms without the same equipment, said the post, which has been widely shared online.The account has reignited questions about whether schools should make families responsible for ensuring cleaner classroom air, particularly when the children concerned are too young to protect themselves or communicate discomfort.“As parents, we are constantly worried about what our children are breathing in at school. We cannot check the air quality in every classroom ourselves, and simply telling us that the air-conditioning has filters is not enough. Schools need to be transparent about what measures are in place, how effective they are and what happens when pollution levels become severe. Our children’s safety should not depend on whether parents can afford to contribute towards air purifiers,” said Deepali Raina, whose child has just started his schooling journey.The issue has also surfaced at schools that have invested in air-purification systems. At Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in Delhi, 55 air-purifying machines were installed through a parent-led initiative in Dec 2025. The project was reported to have cost about Rs 63.3 lakh, with a one-time contribution of around Rs 3,800 per student, according to the school’s internal communication.At Tagore International School in Vasant Vihar, a Nov 2025 circular informed parents that two air purifiers would be installed in each classroom following a positive response from 85-90% of parents. The school proposed adding a one-time charge of Rs 600 to Dec fees for students from nursery to Class XI, excluding EWS students, and said it would cover maintenance and electricity costs.However, experts cautioned that simply installing purifiers does not guarantee safe indoor air. Parents have also raised concerns about the unequal availability of protection.“It would have been much better had air purifiers been installed in schools. Children could have continued attending classes without suffering an academic loss. Now, they will have to shift to online classes instead. Throughout this entire season, children have been confined to buildings, unable to spend time outdoors. That, to me, is the worst part of the situation,” said Swati Kapur, whose child studies in Class V.The social media post has triggered a series of reactions online, with users debating the role of schools, the burden on parents and the need for long-term solutions to air pollution. One user said, “Schools would always shirk the onus on parents to fund the air purifiers. They even ask for donations to organise a winter carnival. They never have funds for necessities despite charging superlative fees. Basically, for them parents remain blank cheque always.”Another raised concerns about the wider inequality, particularly for children in govt schools, saying: “The rich solve their own problems because they can afford them to, then it becomes a practice and it percolates to middle class and the govt is not held accountable.”
