HC slams MCD for poor schools

The Delhi high court on Wednesday slammed the MCD for "pathetic condition" of schools run by it across the Capital.

The Delhi high court on Wednesday slammed the MCD for "pathetic condition" of schools run by it across the Capital.

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A bench of chief justice Dipak Misra and justice Sanjiv Khanna constituted a committee headed by MCD commissioner KS Mehta to ensure speedy improvement of the situation.

Perusing a detailed report submitted by a three-member lawyers' committee appointed by it, the bench expressed shock at the condition under which students from the economically backward classes.

Lawyers Najmi Waziri and Ashok Agarwal, part of the court panel that visited three MCD schools in East Delhi, said, "The students were made to sit in unhygienic conditions. Classes were being held near open toilets and galleries. There were no sufficient bench or desk and there was waterlogging around their classes."
The bench was hearing a PIL alleging some schools were running in tents and there was lack of basic amenities.
Moved by nearly 140 postcards sent by schoolchildren describing the abysmal condition of their schools, the
court had initiated steps to improve the condition of such schools.

Appearing for the students, counsel Ashok Aggarwal said despite several orders passed by the Chief Justice's bench to improve the conditions of primary schools run by the MCD or state government, a sizeable number of schools continue to run from tents.