Schools in Ghaziabad will remain open for classes on Saturday, March 28, after the district administration on Wednesday withdrew its earlier directive that had shifted classes online for the opening of Noida International Airport in Jewar.
However, the amended order leaves unanswered questions about whether 800 school buses previously ordered for the event will be requisitioned.
In an order dated March 25 (Wednesday) addressed to school principals and released to the media on Thursday, District Magistrate Ravinder Kumar Mandhar said: “The undersigned is directed to set aside the order with immediate effect…dated March 24, 2026. Accordingly, classes in all schools of the district will be conducted virtually on March 28.”
The March 24 directive requested 800 school buses to transport “beneficiaries of government schemes” to the airport opening ceremony and instructed that all school classes in the district should shift online for the day.
Read also | Ghaziabad schools will remain open on March 28, amid opening of Jewar Airport
However, the last request does not address the status of the bus request.
HT’s calls to Mandar to clarify the issue went unanswered.
Schools will remain open, and there will be no remote classes
Abhinav Gopal, chief development officer of Ghaziabad, declined to comment and referred the matter to the transport department.
“Under the new order, classes in schools will resume the physical mode as before. The arrangement of buses will be handled differently. The transport department will take care of the issue of buses,” district basic education officer OP Yadav said.
Regional Transport Officer (RTO) PK Singh said he was “out of station” and the RTO (Enforcement) was taking care of the bus arrangements.
“We are not aware of the matter, we will look into it and come back. Closing classrooms in schools is a different matter than seizing buses. Both are separate issues, we will come back to this,” RTO (Enforcement) Siyaram Verma said. There was no further response from Verma at the time of printing of this edition.
Read also | Ghaziabad cancels previous order, schools remain open on March 28
Fuel concerns raised by parents amid US-Iran war
Members of the Indian Parents Association (IPA) have raised concerns about fuel costs associated with the arrangement.
“Relevant authorities should consider opening the event online, especially when fuel-related issues loom in the wake of the conflict in West Asia. Issuing a revised order and not clarifying the process of seizure of buses is shrouded in ambiguity,” said Vivek Tyagi, media coordinator of the International Bus Association.
Political parties had earlier criticized the March 24 order, alleging that buses would be used to transport BJP workers. BJP city president Mayank Goel denied the allegations on Wednesday, saying, “We have arranged around 500 buses on our own from Ghaziabad to go to Jewar. These allegations are baseless and false.”
