Delhi: Road to school is long, bumpy for these kids

NEW DELHI: Nand Kishore, a daily wage labourer living near Kapashera border in southwest Delhi, shifted his daughter to a government school from a private school as his earnings were affected due to the pandemic.
But for her, now it will mean travelling almost 5km without any proper transport as the seats in the school near her house at Samalkha are full.
Since 2018, overcrowding at government schools in Samalkha has been raised on different occasions. At present, there are just two schools in the area that run in shifts.
Earlier, former Bijwasan MLA Devinder Kumar Sehrawat had made a representation to the lieutenant governor requesting a senior secondary school in the area.
The Directorate of Education had written to the SDM seeking allotment of land for the purpose, but nothing happened.
In October 2021, the current MLA, Bhupinder Singh Joon, made a representation to deputy CM and education minister Manish Sisodia requesting the same.
“As the schools are overcrowded, many students fail to get admission. The nearby areas and villages are thickly populated. For instance, Kapashera has a population of 5 lakh, which makes it all the more important to construct another school in the area,” Joon wrote.
He also mentioned that there was enough gram sabha land available in the village. At the boys’ school, there are 4,974 students and 5,983 in the girls’ school. Both run in shifts.
On June 10, when All India Parents’ Association (AIPA) visited the area as part of the “Chalo School” campaign, a large number of parents and students highlighted the same problem. AIPA president Ashok Agarwal has written to Delhi government seeking a mode of transport for girl students till a new school is constructed.
“Hundreds of students have approached us with their complaints. A majority of the students are girls and their main concern is being allotted a school at a distance from their houses. Apart from lack of government buses, taxi and auto services are also not available. Therefore, students and their parents want to transfer to schools at Samalkha or be given alternative facilities, like free transportation. Otherwise, they may have to withdraw their names,” said Agarwal.
He also submitted a list of 18 students who had filed complaints through him.
Kishore, whose daughter studies in Class VII, said, “The school is away from the main road. How will small children travel? We are daily wage labourers, so can’t afford pick-up and drop-off facilities. I had submitted the address proof of Samalkha, but was still allotted the school in Bijwasan.”
The mother of Samiksha, a Class IX student, said, “We don’t know how to send her to school. We cannot send her in private cabs with strangers. It will be great if our children are transferred to the school nearby.”
However, DoE said they had already written on May 12 to the deputy commissioner (southwest) requesting for allotment of land in the area for building another school. “The district education officer has already identified the land and the same has been communicated to the deputy commissioner,” added an official.