By IANS
New Delhi : The Delhi High Court Thursday expressed its concern over mushrooming of unrecognised primary schools in the capital without proper infrastructure, water supply and sanitary facilities.
A division bench headed by Justice T.S. Thakur and Veena Birbal pulled up the schools while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Social Jurist, an NGO, which demanded the regulation of unrecognised schools.
“Let the Delhi government prescribe norms, we will examine the norms. If you find them too harsh, then you can come and protest. You just cannot start any school in a cattle shed.”
The court was surprised that one could start a school without following any norms or regulation. “Are there any norms under the Delhi School Education Act to begin a primary School in the city?”
The bench asked the state’s counsel J.R. Midha: “What about the building, what about the proper and separate toilets for boys and girls, what about the drinking water? Some standard must be prescribed.”
Justice Thakur added that no nursing home could be run without license and even a grocer needed a municipal license for the shop.
“Education is a serious issue. If there is lack of infrastructure, where will students sit? Where will they study? What about the students-teachers ratio? They are left upon the mercy of god,” the bench added.
Additional Director of Education S.S. Ghonkrokta, who was present in the court, said a proposal describing certain norms or regulations in this regard had been drafted and sent to the government.
Midha also informed the court that as per the Delhi School Education Act, no school could run without recognition from the Directorate of Education. “If someone wants to open a school, prior intimation should be given to the directorate.
“The administrator has the power to regulate education in all schools in Delhi in accordance with the provisions in the act,” he said.
However, R.M. Sinha, counsel for private schools, stated, “If we are bounded to take permission from the Directorate of Education, there are possibilities of harassment. For every thing, we will have to run to the directorate.”
According to the PIL, there are around 10,000 unauthorised private schools, having classes from the nursery level to Class 12, that are doing brisk business without complying with the norms of the education act.
After hearing the PIL, the bench said the order was reserved and would be pronounced at a later date.
During the last hearing the court had observed that even “dhabas were better than these schools”.
Advocate Ashok Agrawal appearing for Social Jurist said these schools were the breeding grounds of cheap labour force as they were not the proper institutions to provide education to the students.
“Safety norms must not be compromised with when it is the case of children,” the bench had earlier said.
A court-appointed committee comprising Y.V.V.J. Rajasekhar, deputy director of Delhi Development Authority (DDA), R.K. Wadhera, assistant director, and advocate Agrawal visited 11 such schools in various localities of Delhi.
In its report, the committee stated that except for the R.J. Public School in Mahipalpur, other schools were not recognised by the civic authorities.
Pointing out various deficiencies in safety provisions in these schools, the report said while most of them did not have the fire fighting equipment, some had no electricity, and others were located in commercial areas and had no playground.
Agrawal said the schools have neither proper buildings nor basic amenities or properly qualified teachers, leave aside the provision for safety measures.