Parents cry foul over renovation work of 175-year-old Bombay Scottish School

Parents maintained that the work began sometime before schools reopened this March, after two years of online classes.

Mumbai: Parents of students studying at the 175-year-old Bombay Scottish School, Mahim, are up in arms against the school management for inconveniences caused to their children owing to the ongoing restoration and renovation work of their heritage building.

A general view of Bombay Scottish School from outside the premises, at Mahim, in Mumbai (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

Parents maintained that the work began sometime before schools reopened this March, after two years of online classes. As a result, when the academic year started in June, all classes have been shifted to one building and the school now operates in two shifts as opposed to a single shift.

“One major problem is the clash in school timings. For secondary students, classes start at 7:15 am and end at 12:30 pm. At the same time, primary students also come to school at 12:30 pm. The disbursal and the assembly time of students get disrupted,” said a parent of a Class 7 student.

“Primary students, as a result, have to wait sometimes on the road or around the campus with heavy bags for 45 to 60 minutes before their assembly or classes begin,” said a parent.

The two-shift system has resulted in classes being cut by two hours, though school management refuted this claim, saying they have cut classes only by 45 minutes to accommodate students in the campus’s only operational building.

“To make up for the loss of school hours, students are given extra worksheets to solve at home. As it is, since classes went online after the pandemic, at-home assignments have increased. The students don’t get enough time for extracurricular activities, due to the additional work and the change in school timings,” said the parent cited above.

On the whole, life for students and parents has reportedly become more hectic due to the renovation work. A parent of two students, who did not wish to reveal their ages, complained that they have to deal with changing classrooms every day because there is not enough room to accommodate students.

“Sometimes the students sit in the library where there is not enough place for everyone to sit, or in the classroom meant for small students, due to which their legs get strained,” they said.

Other parents complained about leakages in classrooms during the rain and unclean washrooms, and also said that in a few instances, water purifiers in the school have not been working.

Another major issue is that of school buses. “Because the second shift ends at the same time that the first begins, the primary students have to wait till the secondary students disperse. The same set of school buses plies for all the students and batches. The school is running at almost half capacity,” said the parent cited above.

In the year 2019, the renovation of the entire school was announced in two phases. In 2020, when the plan was about to be executed, the pandemic struck and the 3-year renovation was postponed till around January 2022.

With no end to this dilemma in the foreseeable future, some parents even admitted to considering changing their schools. “Class 7 and 8 students who have already missed out on school life for the past 2 years will have to suffer for another 3 years. Students who are back to school after the two dreaded years of pandemic and online learning are not getting a pleasant school life,” said one of the parents, who is considering changing their child’s school for the above reasons.

Yet another complaint related to the school’s alleged lack of communication with parents, particularly about online classes. At present, one of the five working days is conducted online. On July 17, however, when the Met. Dept. announced a ‘red alert’ for Mumbai rains, and schools were given the authority to take a call on remaining operational, the school did not announce online classes until many students were ready and waiting for their school buses.

“We have to constantly keep on checking our phones for notices. If we miss one notice there is a drastic change, and we have to adjust accordingly. Being a working parent, it is almost impossible for me to keep checking my phone for notices. If they suddenly go online, we have to video call the small kids who are with the household and assist them with logging in and all,” said a parent.

Principal Sunita George, in a written statement to Hindustan Times on Thursday, said, “The school building consists of a Heritage structure which is more than 150 years old. The building needed restoration and strengthening work in the interest of student safety.”

She said that the restoration work will also help provide better-sized classrooms with good acoustics and better facilities.

“Due to this, the school is working in two shifts like several other Mumbai schools. Details on school timings and the proposed design of the restored building were shared with the parents and their consent was taken before the work resumed,” George said.

Meanwhile, more than two months after resuming operations, there is no new PTA committee yet, due to which some parents complained about the lack of access to the administration.

“We will communicate the concerns with parents and hear them out once they choose a representative, or we will elect someone from the lottery system,” school management responded.