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Delhi’s government has unveiled a plan to install air purifiers in 10,000 classrooms across government schools in a phased approach to protect children from worsening pollution while broader clean air efforts continue with claims the move marks the start of sustained administrative action ahead of final implementation.
Designed to protect student health and indoor air quality.
New Delhi: As the national capital’s air quality remains dangerously poor, the Delhi government has announced a major intervention to shield school children from polluted air by installing air purifiers in classrooms. Education Minister Ashish Sood confirmed that tenders for the first stage, covering 10,000 classrooms, have already been floated and that the initiative is part of a phased drive to eventually equip classrooms across all government schools with air purification systems. The plan reflects growing concern over deteriorating air quality and its impact on student health.
Health experts have repeatedly stressed that children are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of air pollution because of the amount of time they spend in school environments and the sensitivity of their developing respiratory systems. Students can spend five to six hours or more inside classrooms, and with pollution levels frequently soaring into very poor or severe categories, the risk of respiratory distress, reduced lung function and impaired concentration is heightened. The decision to install purifiers comes against this backdrop of concern for student wellbeing.
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Delhi’s air quality has consistently oscillated between hazardous and very poor levels during the winter months, forcing authorities to impose curbs and schools to sometimes shift to online lessons to protect students from breathing toxic air outdoors and indoors. Locations such as Anand Vihar and Vivek Vihar often register extremely high air pollutant levels due to emissions from vehicles, industrial activity and seasonal atmospheric conditions. This persistent smog has intensified calls for innovative measures like classroom purifiers to supplement pollution control efforts.
The city’s education minister highlighted that Delhi has roughly 38,000 classrooms across government and aided schools, and that the air purifier installation will follow a phased rollout. The government will utilise funds from the environment cess to support the project, and although specific timelines for full installation have not been announced, the first phase aims to reach 10,000 classrooms as soon as procurement and installation logistics are finalised. Officials have emphasised that this action is administrative and ongoing, not just a temporary campaign.
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While installing air purifiers will improve the quality of indoor air in the targeted classrooms, experts caution that these devices are not a complete solution to the broader air pollution crisis. Outdoor air quality, ventilation practices, school transport emissions and maintenance of the purifiers themselves will influence the overall impact on children’s health. Long term solutions will still require comprehensive pollution control measures across the city and surrounding regions.
Education Minister Ashish Sood underlined that the purifier plan is part of sustained administrative efforts to address air pollution and protect citizen health, distinguishing it from short lived or publicity driven campaigns. He reiterated that the focus is on practical interventions that have measurable impacts on people’s daily lives, especially for vulnerable groups such as school children who bear a disproportionate burden of polluted air exposure.
As the plan moves from announcement to implementation, the government’s phased approach to installing air purifiers will be watched closely by parents, educators and health advocates. Alongside this initiative, broader efforts to reduce pollution at the source, enforce stricter emissions standards and implement long term environmental improvements remain essential. For now, the purifier installation marks a concrete step towards mitigating the immediate risks of toxic air inside classrooms as winter pollution peaks.
