Fewer schools in certain pockets major worry for parents

As there has been a delay in the release of guidelines by the government for nursery admissions at the 298 private schools built on government land, parents living

As there has been a delay in the release of guidelines by the government for nursery admissions at the 298 private schools built on government land, parents living in northwest, east and southwest Delhi are hassled as every school they go to get an application form, they have to return empty-handed.

Some argue that the uneven distribution of schools across Delhi ensures that not all people have access to good schools. (Saumya Khandelwal/HT Photo)

These are the areas which have the most concentration of schools built on the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) land. Out of the total 147 school in the northwest (B) district, 86 schools are built on government land. The areas covered under northwest (B) district are residential colonies such as Pitampura, Rohini, Ashok Vihar and others. The schools in the area are Delhi Public School, Rohini; GD Goenka Public School, Sector 22 Rohini; Ryan International School and others.

The schools in the city are divided into 13 districts.

The situation is similar in the southwest (B) district. Out of the 176 schools, 46 are built on government land. The areas covered by the district are Dwarka, Palam, Najafgarh and others.

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The figures are even higher in the east district, where out of 81, 62 have been built on government land and haven’t started the nursery admission process.

In the west (B) district that covers areas such as Janakpuri, Paschim Vihar, Vikaspuri, out of 195 schools, 39 are built on government land. The big schools in this district include GD Goenka Public School, St Mary’s School Paschim Vihar among others.

“I am really worried now. Applying anywhere away from home is not an option. The schools in Mayur Vihar where I plan to apply haven’t started the admission process,” said Kavinder Chauhan, parent of a three-year-old.

“ I visited at least 10 schools and I was told that the admission process has not started. These are some of the big schools in the area that I am talking about,” said Vikrant Kumar, resident of Janakpuri.

School principals maintain that distance cannot be the sole criteria for admission.

“Schools aren’t evenly distributed across Delhi. There are areas which has plenty of schools and there are pockets which have fewer schools,” said a principal of a school in west Delhi.