Impact of Traffic Noise on the Teaching and Learning Process of School Environment

Long-term exposure to noise causes various health problems, including hypertension, depression, distressed cognition, and hearing impairment. The existing literature indicates rapid industrialization, population, and uncontrolled growth in vehicular traffic as the main causes of outdoor noise generation. In this study, measurements were conducted by monitoring the noise levels outside/inside of two school campuses, named A and B. Class-2 precision sound level meter was used to find out the exposure of students to noise inside classrooms in both prevailing (PC) and silence (SC) condition. Noise maps developed from these measurements reflect an alarming situation for both schools with high noise exposure. Furthermore, there is an average noise level reduction of 6.15 and 6.72 dB(A) in school A & B respectively, when situation changed from prevailing to silence. Results also indicate that the measured noise levels (LAeq) were nearly twice as high as the recommended limit set by World Health Organization (WHO) for classrooms occupied with students. The z-test indicates a significant difference in noise levels for PC and SC. The questionnaire survey investigates the perception and awareness of the students towards the health consequences of high noise exposure. Results indicate higher distraction in the classroom due to road traffic noise. Around 67% of students experienced difficulty in speech intelligibility and 78% found it difficult to concentrate in classrooms. The study has shown a significant impact of traffic noise on the school environment which leads to detrimental effects on the academic performance and well-being of school children. Hence, it is strongly recommended to mitigate road traffic noise generated outside these schools in the form of thick vegetation/noise barriers, thereby ensuring healthy learning conditions inside the classrooms.