Delhi's post partition school has tin walls and one fan
The school that was made post partition by funds given by Muslims was taken over by the Municipal Corporation in 1960. In 1976 it was demolished by the Delhi Government for the construction of a building, and new land was promised.
In Short
- Qaumi Senior Secondary school in Sadar Bazar continues to function out of classrooms made of tin.
- Multiple government-run schools across Delhi lack basic infrastructure.
- Delhi HC has ordered that the government must undertake mandatory periodic inspection of all schools.
40 years after its demolition, the Qaumi Senior Secondary school in Sadar Bazar continues to function out of classrooms made of tin.
Imagine this, roughly 40 students cramped in a make shift class room with walls made of tin and one fan. This is where students of this school are forced to study everyday. The school has approximately 12 such classrooms, and 715 students enrolled.
The school that was made post partition by funds given by Muslims was taken over by the Municipal Corporation in 1960. In 1976 it was demolished by the Delhi Government for the construction of a building, and new land was promised.
It has been four decades since then, and students continue to languish. The school now lies in Eidgah land in Quresh Nagar. Students have been asking the Delhi Government to provide them land, but according to sources, the government says the matter should be handled by the Lieutenant Governor.
And while the tussle between the two parties continues, it is the students who suffer.
We have to sit in these tin camps in the extreme heat and winter. How are we expected to study like this??? said Irfan, a 9th grade student.
When it rains, water drips through holes in the ceiling. So many of us are put in one class??, said Ali another student of the school.
It is not just students of Qaumi senior Secondary school, but multiple government-run schools across Delhi lack basic infrastructure. The Co-Ed Senior Secondary school in Sonia Vihar for instance has 100 students in each classroom, another school in Chhattarpur has almost 160 students per room.
Advocate Khagesh Jha, who is fighting the case for 5 students of Sonia Vihars government school to seek admission elsewhere, says, The condition of most schools is like this. Authorities are either oblivious or do not care??
Meanwhile, the Delhi HC has ordered that the government must undertake mandatory periodic inspection of all schools. How schools like these will fare in such a test will come as no surprise.