North Delhi Municipal Corporation to merge 20 of its schools to create 10
Paras Singh | TNN | Dec 25, 2018, 01:55 IST
Picture for representation purpose onlyNEW DELHI: North Delhi Municipal Corporation will close down some its primary schools and merge them with other similar institutions run by it. A proposal for 20 such schools with low enrolment was cleared by the north corporation’s House meeting on Monday. These will give rise to 10 new schools.
Located mostly in the Karol Bagh, Narela and Rohini zones, these schools are currently running at places like Inderpuri, Pyare Lal Road, Shahbad Daulatpur, Nimari Colony, Shiv Nagar, Pratap Kunj, Avantika, Sangam Park, Molar Basti, Old Ranjeet Nagar, Azadpur Colony and Auchandi.
A senior corporation official attributed the decision to low enrolment, poor finances, and proper utilisation of resources. He gave the example of the proposal to merge Municipal Corporation Primary School (MCPS) Pyare Lal Road 2 and MCPS New Dev Nagar Co-ed School. “Keeping in view better management, saving of posts and the poor economic condition of north corporation, it would be feasible to merge schools in case of availability of accommodation,” he said.
The proposal also argues that more and more parents want to educate their wards in morning-shift schools. “MCPS Pyarelal Road has 202 kids while the Dev Nagar school has 265. After merger, a school with 467 kids and 12 sections will be formed,” the official said.
He added: “There are many vacancies in other schools and the staff from the schools being closed down can be sent there. At the same time, we will be able to use the buildings and other infrastructure for purposes such as sports academies.”
The merger of the two schools alone would lead to a surplus of a principal, five teachers and two Class IV employees who could be reassigned. The official also said that 29 schools with low enrolment had been similarly shut down two years ago. But education experts have been criticising the corporations for their failure to enrol more children.
Khagesh Jha, a Supreme Court lawyer and education activist, remarked, “If the corporation has extra land, why not add to the capital’s school infrastructure so that more kids can be brought in the school system? There are more than 20 lakh kids outside the school system in the city. Besides, children from unrecognised schools too need to be brought to government schools.”
The north civic body runs 714 municipal primary schools, in which children, mostly from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, study. Enrolment in all corporation-run schools, however, has been declining steadily. Around 70,000 students have opted out of north schools since the 2012 trifurcation. It then had 3,70,648 students in its primary schools. This figure slid to 3,50,611 in 2013-14 and 3,14,022 in 2016-17. At present, around three lakh students are on the rolls.
Located mostly in the Karol Bagh, Narela and Rohini zones, these schools are currently running at places like Inderpuri, Pyare Lal Road, Shahbad Daulatpur, Nimari Colony, Shiv Nagar, Pratap Kunj, Avantika, Sangam Park, Molar Basti, Old Ranjeet Nagar, Azadpur Colony and Auchandi.
A senior corporation official attributed the decision to low enrolment, poor finances, and proper utilisation of resources. He gave the example of the proposal to merge Municipal Corporation Primary School (MCPS) Pyare Lal Road 2 and MCPS New Dev Nagar Co-ed School. “Keeping in view better management, saving of posts and the poor economic condition of north corporation, it would be feasible to merge schools in case of availability of accommodation,” he said.
The proposal also argues that more and more parents want to educate their wards in morning-shift schools. “MCPS Pyarelal Road has 202 kids while the Dev Nagar school has 265. After merger, a school with 467 kids and 12 sections will be formed,” the official said.
He added: “There are many vacancies in other schools and the staff from the schools being closed down can be sent there. At the same time, we will be able to use the buildings and other infrastructure for purposes such as sports academies.”
The merger of the two schools alone would lead to a surplus of a principal, five teachers and two Class IV employees who could be reassigned. The official also said that 29 schools with low enrolment had been similarly shut down two years ago. But education experts have been criticising the corporations for their failure to enrol more children.
Khagesh Jha, a Supreme Court lawyer and education activist, remarked, “If the corporation has extra land, why not add to the capital’s school infrastructure so that more kids can be brought in the school system? There are more than 20 lakh kids outside the school system in the city. Besides, children from unrecognised schools too need to be brought to government schools.”
The north civic body runs 714 municipal primary schools, in which children, mostly from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, study. Enrolment in all corporation-run schools, however, has been declining steadily. Around 70,000 students have opted out of north schools since the 2012 trifurcation. It then had 3,70,648 students in its primary schools. This figure slid to 3,50,611 in 2013-14 and 3,14,022 in 2016-17. At present, around three lakh students are on the rolls.
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