School ran parlour, shop on campus, shut down

De-recognised for allowing a parlour and a tailoring shop to operate from its premises, a government-aided school in east Delhi has left its students in lurch, some of them even facing the risk of losing an academic year. The school was shut down after the East Delhi Municipal Corporation withdrew its recognition in April this year.

Over 600 students studying in Bal Vikas School, Block 8, Trilokpuri, are either waiting for the school to reopen or attending local private schools that are more expensive.

Run by the Bal Vikas Samiti, the school defaulted on several counts that include allowing “activities other than education in its premises”, authorities told this newspaper. The school management has declined to comment.

Trilokpuri MLA Raju Dhingan, from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, said many parents sought his help in getting admission elsewhere. But, he said, despite his earnestness, they couldn’t be helped as responsibility of primary education — from Class 1 to Class 5 — is with the BJP-run civic agencies.

Omkar, a local resident whose two daughters studied in Bal Vikas School, said he spent Rs14,000 to get them enrolled at Upadhyay Public School in the neighbouring East Vinod Nagar. Omkar works as a scrap dealer.

He said the locals had taken out a huge procession against the school administration after it put out a sudden notice informing that the school is closing down because of an MCD order. “Right to Education Act 2009 does not allow the functioning of unrecognised schools,” a notice plastered on the school gate says.

The school was de-recognised on April 2, days after the new academic session began. Another local resident, Dinesh Chauhan, whose children were also attending Bal Vikas School, told this newspaper that the beauty parlour and tailoring shop was next to the principal’s office. He even alleged that the school sometimes rented out its premises for hosting marriage parties.

Despite being a government-aided school, it was charging Rs 500 per month, according to the locals. East MCD standing committee chairman Jitender Chaudhary said the school management had been charged with “non-submission of annual return for the last three years.”

“The school was teaching students from Nursery to Class 8. I hope the government takes over management of the school and scale it up to Class 12. It will be good for the locality if that happens as most of the residents here are from the scheduled castes and impoverished backgrounds,” Mr Chauhan said.