Private school students get unexpected vacation

New Delhi: Parents of kids studying in entry-level classes of a private school in North Delhi were in for a rude shock when they received a message from the school that it will remain closed till April 28 in view of the upcoming MCD elections.

The message sent by the principal of Apeejay School (Pitampura), read: “Alipur DM ordered the requirement of school premises from 29/3/2017 to 28/4/2017 for election purposes. Our school was made the control room. They have already sealed some rooms and kept sealed boxes.”

In view of this, the school has suspended classes for the students of kindergarten (KG) and Class 1 for now.

According to Amit Satija, district magistrate (North), the returning officer has requisitioned nine rooms. “We wanted ground floor rooms for keeping EVMs, etc. The floor mostly has junior classes and the principal told us that the kids cannot climb to the upper floors, that is why they have suspended their classes,” he said.

He added that the district officers have the authority to requisition schools for election purposes. Some colleges like Swami Shraddhanand and Aryabhat Polytechnic have also been requisitioned.

The classes have been converted into control rooms where EVMs have been kept. After the election on April 23, counting will be done on April 25, following which the rooms will be vacated.

“When I inquired why our school, they said that because of safety, security, and approach, our school has been made the control room and we should be proud of doing this national duty,” the message, sent by principal D.K. Bedi, said.

However, not all parents received the message and they were left confused whether or not the classes will be held.

“We got to know about this last night through the school cab driver. Later, we enquired from other parents. But we weren’t sure, so we called the class teacher this morning and confirmed. We weren’t prepared for this,” said the parents of a student studying in lower KG.

The principal also said that the school is “worried about the loss of studies” and that the students will be sent home assignments.

“We are also exploring different options like reducing winter, autumn, and summer break and will be working on Saturdays,” he said.

He added that the school is taking security measures like bifurcating the area for separate entry for students and election officers.