The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration has asked all schools in the district to start classes from 9 am from Tuesday in view of cold weather conditions in the region, according to an official order on Monday.

Separately, the administration has also ordered schools to switch to hybrid mode of teaching for students up to Class 5 due to pollution and implementation of GRAP III restrictions.

The administration has also written to all government departments to enforce staggered work timings in view of GRAP III restrictions.

"In view of the extreme cold, as per the instructions given by the District Magistrate, Gautam Buddh Nagar, classes in all schools will start from 9 am till further orders. In this regard, all the principals are instructed to ensure strict compliance of the above instructions," Dr Dharmveer Singh, the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS), said in an order.

Singh told PTI that there around 2,000 registered schools across Noida and Greater Noida in Gautam Buddh Nagar district. Of these around 250 are affiliated to ICSE and CBSE boards while 170 are affiliated to the UP Board.

In a separate order, Basic Shiksha Adhikari Rahul Panwar cited restrictions under Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for the national capital region issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and adjoining areas.

"All the principals and headmasters of all the schools from Class 1 to Class 5 of District Gautam Buddh Nagar are directed to ensure that the classes are conducted in hybrid mode in compliance with the above instructions (of CAQM)," the order stated.

In a letter to all local government departments, District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma asked them to ensure compliance of GRAP guidelines.

State government offices have been asked to keep work timings from 10 am to 5 pm, while offices of Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway authorities have been told to keep it from 9 am to 6 pm. Offices under the Nagar Palika Parishad and panchayats have been told to keep office timings from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm, according to the communique.

The Centre's air quality panel for Delhi-NCR Monday invoked restrictive measures under stage three of the air pollution control plan amid a sharp dip in air quality due to unfavourable meteorological conditions.

Noida's 24-hour average air quality index, recorded at 4 pm daily, stood at 323, while for Greater Noida it was 358 --“ both "very poor". At a review meeting, the CAQM noted that the AQI "may worsen" owing to extremely calm wind and "buildup of an inversion layer adversely affecting the vertical mixing height", the height above the surface throughout which a pollutant can be dispersed.

According to the revised plan, schools and colleges in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar are mandatorily required to shift classes up to Class V to hybrid mode under GRAP Stage III.

Students and parents will have the option to choose online education wherever it is available. Stage III also entails a ban on non-essential diesel-operated medium goods vehicles with BS-IV or older standards within Delhi. Non-essential diesel light commercial vehicles of BS-IV or older standards, registered outside Delhi, are also not allowed to enter the city.

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