Enrolment Rises, But MCD Schools Cannot Keep Facilities Up To Speed

Poor Infrastructure, Security And Sanitation Are Among The Key Concerns

- Shradha Chettri & Shinjini Ghosh

New Delhi: Till 2019-20, there was growing concern over the decreasing enrolment in primary schools run by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). Cut to 2022-23, the enrolment has gone up by over 17%, with 8,75,000 children studying in classes nursery to V.

At the same time, the teacher-student ratio has risen, highlighting the need for recruitment and fixing the number of posts. The infrastructure in many schools leaves a lot to be desired -- three students share a desk, some are seated on rugs. Cleanliness remains an issue as only one sweeper is allotted. Many schools also need extensive renovation and CCTVs, computer facilities and, importantly, security guards.

While enrolment has risen, the number of schools has come down to 1,535 from 1,660 in 2018. Several experts called the process “merging and closure”. MCD officials termed it “optimum utilisation of resources”.

Vikas Tripathi, director of education, told TOI, “No schools have been closed or merged due to dip in enrolment. We are just ensuring resources are optimally utilised. There are instances where only one boundary existed between two schools, so that was broken and they were turned into one.”

At Nigam Utkrisht Vidyalaya in Jai Rani Bagh, the number of students has increased to 1,103 in the past few years. The school added 400 students in this session alone. There are two sets of buildings, with the second built-in 2004. In crowded classrooms, three students sit on desks and chairs while in a few, they sit on rugs.