Current figures reveal that only 62 schools have CCTVs and women guards. (Representational Image)
No dedicated teachers for computer classes despite computers in each institution, 14 schools without their own campus, 120 principal posts vacant — the 581 schools under the South Delhi Municipal Corporation’s (SDMC’s) jurisdiction are battling a host of problems.
Last year, in a bid to control the high dropout rate in schools, the South corporation had announced that it would provide computer education, apart from deploying women guards and installing CCTV cameras. However, current figures reveal that only 62 schools have CCTVs and women guards.
The figures were provided in a reply to a question by Leader of Opposition in the South corporation, Praveen Kumar. South body sources said apart from 20 schools where NGOs have been enrolled to give computer training, the rest of the schools have no dedicated teacher for computer classes. “Most schools don’t have more than a single computer, and that too is often used for administrative purposes,” he said.
Leader of the House in South corporation, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, however, said while they don’t have dedicated teachers for the purpose, teachers from other subjects are asked to give computer lessons. “We also have 195 schools where ‘smart boards’ have been introduced and 20 more will be given soon,” Sehrawat said.
The figures also state that 14 schools are being run from campuses that are not their own, as their buildings are being renovated or haven’t been constructed. The South corporation’s school in Madipur village houses a school earlier run from Paschim Vihar, while the school that used to be in Jaitpur II in south Delhi is now run from the one in Jaitpur I.
Similarly, Gopal Nagar school has to accommodate children from Najafgarh school, while PTS school has given space to children of Sarvapriya Vihar, according to data provided by the South MCD. The South corporation, in the reply, said that in some cases, school buildings are being rebuilt as the earlier one had been declared dangerous. In one case, a building has not been constructed or renovated as they couldn’t get a no-objection certificate from the archaeological department, while in another case, the SDMC couldn’t procure land.