PIL in Delhi HC on non-completion of school building affecting education, health of 8,000 students

Plea submitted that the premises have two operational school buildings having a total of 40 classrooms and a school building under construction having 28 classrooms.

New Delhi: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been moved in the Delhi High Court against the non-completion of a school building affecting the education and health of 8,000 students studying in Delhi Government Girls Senior Secondary School situated in Mukundpur Village, Delhi.

The plea alleged that crores of rupees have been spent on the construction of additional school building in premises of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Mukundpur Village and Government Boys Senior Secondary School, Mukundpur Village, but a few lakhs of rupees which is required to make it functional have not been spent keeping the school building out of reach of the 8,000 students for the last more than two and half year.

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The plea further submitted that impugned action on the part of the Delhi Government’s Director of Education in not providing an adequate number of classrooms and sitting facilities to students is arbitrary, unjust, malafide, discriminatory, unethical, anti-child, violates the fundamental right to education as guaranteed to them under Articles 14, 21 and 21-A of Constitution of India.

Social Jurist, a Civil Rights Group through Advocates Ashok Agarwal and Kumar Utkarsh stated that school premises of Government Girls Senior Secondary School have a total enrolment of 4290 students of classes VI to XII runs in the morning shift and Government Boys Senior Secondary School has a total enrollment of 3804 students of classes VI to XII runs in the evening shift.

Plea submitted that the premises have two operational school buildings having a total of 40 classrooms and a school building under construction having 28 classrooms. It was informed to him that 80 per cent of the work has been completed in an under-construction school building but for the past 2.5 years no work at all has been done. It was also informed to him that due to a shortage of classrooms, students of two sections are forced to sit in one classroom.

The plea further submitted that in one of the circulars issued by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools have been asked to rationalize student numbers for each class and maintain the strength in all sections up to 40, so that the student ratio is followed in letter and spirit. Therefore, it is an alarming situation to teach more than 100 students in one classroom when the classroom is constructed keeping in mind the strength of 48 students.

The plea also submitted that due to the shortage of classrooms and large numbers of students sitting in classrooms not only students’ education but their health is also being affected due to suffocation.