Sports varsity to kick off this year from govt school building in Civil Lines

The upcoming Delhi Sports University will start operations this year in a government school building and sports complex in north Delhi’s Civil Lines area,government officials aware of the matter said on Friday.

The upcoming Delhi Sports University will start operations this year in a government school building and sports complex in north Delhi’s Civil Lines area,government officials aware of the matter said on Friday.

Classes for the university will be conducted at the Ludlow Castle Sports Complex in Civil Lines, said the minutes.

The University will continue to run out of the Shaheed Amir Chand government Sarvodaya Vidyalaya (SAC GSV) till construction work on the varsity’s Mundka complex ends, officials said, just over a week after the state government appointed as its vice-chancellor Karnam Malleswari, India’s first female Olympic medallist.

According to the minutes of a June 23 meeting — attended by Delhi director of education Udit Prakash Rai, Chandni Chowk MLA Parlad Singh Sawhney, and other government officials, apart from members of the School Management Committee — the Civil Lines school and nearby sports complexes will be used as the administrative block and as classes for the sports university.

“Augmentation and procurement of infrastructure and other facilities will take about one year at the designated location [in Mundka]. Therefore... it has been decided to use the premises of SAC, GSV, Sham Nath Marg and nearby sports complexes for the purpose of administrative block and classes for the sports university,” said the minutes.

Classes for the university will be conducted at the Ludlow Castle Sports Complex in Civil Lines, said the minutes.

Some of the students of the Civil Lines government school will be moved to other nearby institutions in the meanwhile, and others will continue at the same school, but in another block, said state government officials aware of the matter.

The state cabinet in October 2019 passed an order setting up the university in Mundka. Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal at the time, said the university will offer field-specific degrees that will be at par with those offered in other courses at the graduate, post-graduate and doctoral levels.

The government in the same month allocated the university a 90-acre plot in outer Delhi’s Mundka. However, construction work on the university was disrupted because of the pandemic and has not started yet. Weightlifting champion Malleswari was named the varsity’s V-C on June 24.

The government is yet to announce either the curriculum or admission criteria for the university.

During the meeting, it was decided that while the students of the Civil Lines school in nursery till Class 8 will be shifted to three nearby government schools, those in classes 9 to 12 will continue in another block of the same school.

“The 74 girls of the middle section and primary students may be shifted to Sarvodaya Vidyalaya Shankaracharya Marg. The 364 boys of middle sections may be shifted to SBV Gokhle Marg and SV No.1 Mori Gate. The remaining 985 students of classes 9 to 12 will remain in the old block of the same school,” the minutes said, adding that the MLA, parents and SMC members approved the proposal.

When contacted, Delhi government officials, SMC members and Sawhney confirmed the decision.

A senior Delhi government official said, “The decision has been taken because construction work in Mundka has been delayed due to the pandemic… Some existing students of the school will be shifted to nearby schools without causing any inconvenience to them or their parents.”

Some members of the School Management Committee flagged their concerns over shifting students and wrote to the office of Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on June 26 against the move.

Shashi Singh, an SMC member, told HT, “The Delhi government should tell us how much time it will take to build the University campus. Whenever that is done, all students should be shifted back to this school. It will be very difficult for students to suddenly switch to another school and adjust with new teachers at a time when classes are being held online.”

Sawhney, however, said he has so far been approached by only one parent concerned about the move. “The decision has been taken keeping the interest of students in mind. It will help the university to start functioning at the earliest. Besides, the schools are shut due to Covid-19 and it is expected that they won’t reopen anytime soon,” Singh said.