The Delhi Municipal Corporation has decided to merge 60 schools into 30 schools. BJP leader Raja Iqbal Singh expressed concern over this and said that this will affect the education of poor children. The Mayor’s office said that this decision has been taken for redevelopment of schools and education reform.
New Delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is going to close 30 schools. The MCD has decided to merge 60 schools into 30. In the order issued on August 9, instructions have been given to complete the process of merging schools quickly, submit proposals to transfer or adjust more teachers and non-teaching staff. The BJP has criticized this order. Leader of Opposition and BJP councilor Raja Iqbal Singh said that the merger of schools will have a bad effect on the education of poor children.
BJP questioned the order
Raja Iqbal Singh said that some schools were running in two shifts, and parents were sending children to the second shift as per their convenience. Now the decision to close evening schools reflects the decline in the level of education in MCD schools and the continuous decrease in the number of students. We will raise this issue in the next House meeting and demand clarification. Singh further said that even last year, 50 municipal schools were merged without discussing in the House. Singh questioned Mayor Shelly Oberoi as to why schools with more than 250 students were merged even though AAP has talked a lot about world-class education model. Iqbal Singh said that not only this, there is a shortage of about 4000 teachers in the corporation and AAP in MCD has not made any effort to solve this issue. He also alleged that till 2021-22, the total student strength in MCD schools was around 8 lakh, which has now come down to 6.5 lakh.
What was the response from the Mayor’s Office?
Responding to these allegations, the Mayor’s Office said that the 26 pair of schools working in two shifts have been merged because there is enough space after redevelopment of school infrastructure, and now these will work in normal shifts at the same location. The Mayor’s Office said that no school will be shifted or closed, and with normal morning timings, learning is expected to improve based on the experience so far. Students will continue to come to the same location, so there will be no inconvenience to students, parents or staff. Moreover, the National Education Policy and court guidelines promote co-education, which will be achieved. In the case of the remaining eight schools, the merger has been decided to provide administrative convenience and wider use of resources available in the school to the students.
