New Delhi, March 28 : The new academic session is going to begin in all the states, including Delhi from April 1 for which preparations have been made to fit into the new normal scheme of things following the Covid-triggered changed circumstances. In most of the states, including Delhi, students from Class 1-8 will not be able to attend schools in the beginning of the new session. The Delhi government has clarified that schools will not be opened for the lower classes at the moment amid increasing numbers of coronavirus infections. Apart from Delhi, several other states including Punjab, Puducherry, Gujarat, Himachal, Chandigarh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan have also decided to keep the schools closed for the lower classes. Even as schools were opened earlier in most of these states, they have been now closed owing to the current Covid-19 situation. Many well-known schools in Delhi, such as the Air Force Bal Bharati School, Delhi Public School, among others, have issued special circular to parents. According to the circular issued by these schools, in the next academic session, the children's education will go online. Students will do their further studies from home. The government of Delhi and the management of all these private schools were not in a position to give a time-frame for resumption of regular classes. Ashok Agarwal, president of the All India Parents Association and a member of the Delhi University Executive Council, told IANS: "In view of the corona situation the option of online education is a compulsion. But students should be given the opportunity to come to school where possible. According to an estimate, the school dropout rate of students has increased by 20 per cent due to the closure of schools." Parents are also worried that they were transferred from one state to another last year and could not get their children enrolled in schools. Puran Chandra, who came to Delhi from Nainital, told IANS, "Last year, we came to Delhi from Nainital in the second week of March. My son Manish is in the third grade. He could not get admission anywhere due to the lockdown, and was at home for the entire year. The problem has become more serious due to non-opening of school." On the other hand, the Delhi Parents Association has said it was a correct decision to not open the school given the current situation, but it should also have been applicable for the students of Class 9 and 11. /IANS