REPORT
Social Jurist team consisting of Advocate Ashok Agarwal and Law Student Tanya on Monday, 14 April 2008 visited the MCD Primary School, Anand Vihar II, Delhi (India).
The school is run in two shifts. The girl students study in the morning shift and the boy students in the afternoon shift. The strength of the boy students in the afternoon shift is around 550. All these students are the inhabitants of the nearby slums. Some of them were not in the school uniform. Some of them were not even in shoes. The attendance of the students was also poor. There was no one to man the school gate. We were told by the principal that school does not have an attendant. Other observations are as under.
(1) Though the academic session has started from 01.04.2008 but the students have not been provided with the books and stationary so far. Less than 25 % of class V students were having few books belonging to the out going Class V students. In all other classes, some of the students were having few books which were provided to them by the school from its last year’s stock. The similar situation must be prevailing in all most all the 1800 MCD run Primary Schools in Delhi. Is any body accountable for it? It is the duty of the school authorities to provide to all its students all the books and stationary at the beginning of the academic year but it has never happened. It only reflects the degree of seriousness on the part of the authorities to provide quality education to these children of the masses. The school authorities deliberately do not want that these children should get equal educational opportunity to compete with their own children who are not studying in these municipal schools. It would not be wrong to say that it is all due to caste and class bias.
(2) No proper electricity in the classrooms. The students were studying in the classrooms without proper light and even the fans were not working properly.
(3) No proper benches for the students to sit: - firstly, there were not enough benches as compared to the class strength. Most of the benches had no back support. Secondly, on a bench for two students, as many as four students were found sitting. It is happening when many students are absent. Imagine the situation when all the enrolled students are present in the classroom. The students’ absenteeism was alarming. Many of the class I students were found sitting on a dirty rug.
(4) No proper toilets for the students to use: - the condition is so bad that the students are forced to urinate outside the toilets and that makes the whole place stink whereas the teacher’s toilets were clean. The principal told us that the sweeper is not attending duties for the last so many days and the school has no other alternative arrangement. All the classrooms except that of the computer room were dirty. A heap of garbage and a broom in one corner of all most all the classrooms was a common feature. It appears that some one or may be the students in the morning shift might have cleaned the classrooms and then kept the heap of garbage and the broom in one corner of the classrooms.
(5) Impure drinking water: - at least two water tanks did not have a lid. The students were refilling their water bottles from the same unhygienic tank and the school authorities paid no attention to this.
(6) The teaching staff was complaining that the classrooms are not enough. At least two more classrooms are required. We have noticed that one big room used to accommodate the nursery class students of the Ist shift is not made available to the IInd shift school. The reasons are not known. Two rooms are used as offices of the different shifts principals. One room is used for storing Kabar. It appears that the shortage of the classrooms is artificial and due to mismanagement.
(7) It is pertinent to mention that the roof of the entire school building is made of asbestos sheets. The roofs of some of the classrooms had holes. There was no white washing in the entire school building for years. The students in the classrooms were feeling uncomfortable due to hot temperature. A pucca building is immediately required to provide a conducive environment to the students.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court in the recent judgment in the “reservation case” highlighted the failure of the Government to implement the constitutional mandate of free and compulsory education to the children. Government is making tall claims but the ground reality is that the government has made a mockery of the fundamental right to education.
Ashok Agarwal, Advocate Tanya, Law Student
M-09811101923 M-09818494255
14.04.2008
Social Jurist team consisting of Advocate Ashok Agarwal and Law Student Tanya on Monday, 14 April 2008 visited the MCD Primary School, Anand Vihar II, Delhi (India).
The school is run in two shifts. The girl students study in the morning shift and the boy students in the afternoon shift. The strength of the boy students in the afternoon shift is around 550. All these students are the inhabitants of the nearby slums. Some of them were not in the school uniform. Some of them were not even in shoes. The attendance of the students was also poor. There was no one to man the school gate. We were told by the principal that school does not have an attendant. Other observations are as under.
(1) Though the academic session has started from 01.04.2008 but the students have not been provided with the books and stationary so far. Less than 25 % of class V students were having few books belonging to the out going Class V students. In all other classes, some of the students were having few books which were provided to them by the school from its last year’s stock. The similar situation must be prevailing in all most all the 1800 MCD run Primary Schools in Delhi. Is any body accountable for it? It is the duty of the school authorities to provide to all its students all the books and stationary at the beginning of the academic year but it has never happened. It only reflects the degree of seriousness on the part of the authorities to provide quality education to these children of the masses. The school authorities deliberately do not want that these children should get equal educational opportunity to compete with their own children who are not studying in these municipal schools. It would not be wrong to say that it is all due to caste and class bias.
(2) No proper electricity in the classrooms. The students were studying in the classrooms without proper light and even the fans were not working properly.
(3) No proper benches for the students to sit: - firstly, there were not enough benches as compared to the class strength. Most of the benches had no back support. Secondly, on a bench for two students, as many as four students were found sitting. It is happening when many students are absent. Imagine the situation when all the enrolled students are present in the classroom. The students’ absenteeism was alarming. Many of the class I students were found sitting on a dirty rug.
(4) No proper toilets for the students to use: - the condition is so bad that the students are forced to urinate outside the toilets and that makes the whole place stink whereas the teacher’s toilets were clean. The principal told us that the sweeper is not attending duties for the last so many days and the school has no other alternative arrangement. All the classrooms except that of the computer room were dirty. A heap of garbage and a broom in one corner of all most all the classrooms was a common feature. It appears that some one or may be the students in the morning shift might have cleaned the classrooms and then kept the heap of garbage and the broom in one corner of the classrooms.
(5) Impure drinking water: - at least two water tanks did not have a lid. The students were refilling their water bottles from the same unhygienic tank and the school authorities paid no attention to this.
(6) The teaching staff was complaining that the classrooms are not enough. At least two more classrooms are required. We have noticed that one big room used to accommodate the nursery class students of the Ist shift is not made available to the IInd shift school. The reasons are not known. Two rooms are used as offices of the different shifts principals. One room is used for storing Kabar. It appears that the shortage of the classrooms is artificial and due to mismanagement.
(7) It is pertinent to mention that the roof of the entire school building is made of asbestos sheets. The roofs of some of the classrooms had holes. There was no white washing in the entire school building for years. The students in the classrooms were feeling uncomfortable due to hot temperature. A pucca building is immediately required to provide a conducive environment to the students.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court in the recent judgment in the “reservation case” highlighted the failure of the Government to implement the constitutional mandate of free and compulsory education to the children. Government is making tall claims but the ground reality is that the government has made a mockery of the fundamental right to education.
Ashok Agarwal, Advocate Tanya, Law Student
M-09811101923 M-09818494255
14.04.2008
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