Leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) visited some Municipal Corporation of Delhi-run schools in the city on Saturday and said the BJP should apologise for the “poor condition” of the institutions and for “playing with the future of students”.
Senior AAP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the BJP has made a “mockery” of schools meant for poor children while being in power in the muncipal corporation for 17 years.
Leading the inspection at Greater Kailash, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj denounced the BJP’s education system and called it a “complete disaster” in the name of MCD schools being run in Delhi. He live-streamed his visit on social media platforms, highlighting the “poor condition” of the school buildings, classrooms, toilets and campuses.
Also Read | MCD school students lacking books, uniforms: AAP
Hitting out at AAP, the MCD denied that the infrastructure in its schools was poor and termed the live streaming of the school premises an “intrusion” that was “uncalled for”.
“It is hoped that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, the Delhi Commission for Women and Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights will take note of such breach and call for appropriate action against the trespassers in the schools who put the safety and security of children at bay,” read a statement released by the civic body.
‘Serious shortcomings’
Mr. Bharadwaj leader visited an MCD school in Greater Kailash’s Krishi Vihar colony and said he found “serious shortcomings” in the school’s functioning. “MCD schools are so understaffed that one teacher is being forced to teach two-three classes simultaneously inside one classroom. Only two teachers and one principal were present in the school to teach seven classes,” he said.
He challenged the BJP leaders to accompany them to MCD Schools to see the “disastrous” state of the premises. “The first sight inside the school was shocking. The structure did not even have a permanent roof. The students were sitting under a tin shed. Given the hot climate of Delhi, we can only imagine the ordeal the children face in the classrooms,” Mr. Bharadwaj said.
Also Read | BJP can’t tolerate poor students getting world-class education: Sisodia
AAP MLAs Durgesh Pathak and Dilip Pandey, who inspected schools in Rajinder Nagar and Timarpur, said they were met with closed doors.
“It came to light that the BJP-ruled MCD got all the schools in their areas locked before the MLAs could enter the premises to avoid public ire. When the MLAs tried to enter they were told that the schools were given orders from ‘above’ to stop them,” the party said in a statement.
Mr. Pathak said by locking up the school, the BJP has shown that its schools are unworthy of being exhibited to anyone. “The BJP is aware that there will be a huge unrest if their condition is revealed to the public,” he said.
“AAP MLAs personally went and showed them our schools when BJP members requested to see Delhi government-run institutions. When it is their turn today, they are missing,” Mr. Pathak added.
The AAP MLAs alleged that they found tin sheds in MCD schools in Kalkaji, Kasturba Nagar, Patel Nagar and Model Town. Dilapidated buildings were seen at MCD schools in Adarsh Nagar, Seelampur, Rohtas Nagar, Uttam Nagar, and Burari, they added.
The AAP leaders said that they found lack of water and no computers in computer lab in Hari Nagar, Shalimar Bagh and Tilak Nagar schools. Also, they found hazardous buildings and unusable toilets in Khayala and Kondli and “mountains of garbage” in Mustafabad and Nangloi.
The BJP did not respond to the allegations.
Funds crunch
The MCD said the funds allotted by the government for the infrastructure, repair and maintenance of 1,535 MCD-run schools was meagre and that it received nothing for the financial year 2020-21.
It added that the funds received for the same, in the financial year 2021-22 and 2022-23, stood at ₹21 crore and ₹7.5 crore, respectively.
Also Read | Delhi education model is ‘extortion model’; AAP government hiked classrooms construction cost by ₹326 crore: BJP
“It is a sad commentary that the funds given by the Delhi government to MCD schools have been a trickle in comparison to the gush of funds for Delhi government schools, which have been provided more than ₹1,500 crore every year for 1,100 schools. A little coaxing and Twitter pleas to Delhi government by those raising the issue may help address the alleged problem to a great extent,” the civic body said.
