‘Double shift for us’: Working parents face multiple challenges as Delhi-NCR schools switch to online mode

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Working parents also have to push their work deadlines or ask for extensions due to the sudden shift from offline to online classes.

“My child is 4-years-old and needs the company of at least one parent at home to join online classes. It doesn’t allow me to concentrate on work and official assignments, resulting in late submissions on work,” said Vinit Kumar, who works from home as a senior developer at Merkel.

Parents like Kumar, who work from home, also manage their daily official tasks with some household chores. This has been causing extra stress to them, which is ultimately resulting in less fun time with their kids.

“I am not sending my four-year-old son to play outside due to pollution. So now, he is stuck in the house for 24 hours a day, and when he feel like resting and playing after a day full of online classes, I encourage him to step away from screens for some fun time. However, now their play time is also dependent on me, due to which my personal time and cooking time has disappeared. I am lacking on my professional front and also inching towards being an anxious and tired mother,” said Pooja, a mother from Ghaziabad.

The worst affected are the women. Several working couples have decided that it would be better for the mothers to stay at home or ask for a ‘work from home’ from office, rather than the father of the child. “My husband earns more than me, and my in-laws believe that I will be able to handle my son better than my husband, so it was decided that I will request for a WFH rather than my husband, because even if I am asked to quit then the higher-earning member will still have a job. I also get very limited help from my in-laws as they have their commitments,” Pooja added.

A neighbour of Pooja has requested her mother to come and live with them in Ghaziabad for a week to help them to pass this phase. The couple’s mother flew in from Bihar over the weekend as they knew such a situation is becoming a yearly norm. “They played smart, they saw the AQI worsening and asked their mother to come quickly so that they could carry on with their corporate jobs while their mother takes care of their 9-year-old at home,” Pooja shared.

Parents of teenagers are less worried about this change as the kids have grown up and are capable of taking care of themselves. “As a parent of a 12-year-old kid, I am positive about the online classes as my daughter can handle online or offline classes. Also, it saves a bit of time for me as I don’t have to rush and pack her breakfast and lunch boxes,” said Teji Talisethy, program manager at Ericsson. A few parents, however, are trying to be cautious in that too as they want to ensure their kid is safe at home or is not misusing the freedom.

No relief for teachers

While students have shifted to online classes, in majority schools teachers are still teaching from schools. Some of the teachers are a bit agitated about the same, while others believe that the comfort of a classroom is unmatched. “The decision to call teachers back to school despite students shifting to online learning and high levels of pollution is a complex issue with both pros and cons,” said Jyoti Kaushik, a Delhi teacher.

Jyoti Arora, Principal of Delhi World Public School, Noida Extension believes that the resources available in the school area allow teachers to be more confident and make their lessons more productive and interesting. “All kinds of resources are readily available in school like the interactive board, lab equipment, Montessori play based learning articles for showcasing while teaching. The resources on site can be utilised by the teachers to enhance their teaching techniques. The online support team also caters to any kind of hindrance faced by the teachers which is not available at home,” Jyoti Arora told indianexpress.com.

“Online education can supplement traditional learning during pollution peaks, but the real solution lies in improving air quality, developing pollution-resistant infrastructure and enhancing public health measures,” she added.