The Hindu : New Delhi News : High Court summons top MCD officials

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Friday, Nov 18, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

High Court summons top MCD officials

Staff Reporter

Pathetic state of affairs in Corporation-run schools

NEW DELHI: There are two hundreds primary schools run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) where there are no blackboards. In a resettlement colony in North-West Delhi, students of poorer sections of society are condemned to drink hard water, which may make them sick in the not too distant future.

These are some of the hard facts reflecting the state of affairs in government-run schools in the city, which made the Delhi High Court on Thursday observe: " What kind of education you (MCD) are imparting to these students.''

"You are not discharging your primary functions, and this is a pathetic state of affairs,'' a Division Bench comprising Justice Vijender Jain and Justice Rekha Sharma further observed.

When counsel for the local body tried to explain the absence of the basic requirements at these schools, the Bench said the Court wanted the presence of the Additional Commissioner (Education) and the Additional Commissioner (Engineering) of the Corporation to account for the "inhuman conditions'' in which these students are getting themselves educated.

"To say the least, the students are in inhuman conditions in some of these schools. There are proper toilets and no drinking water facilities,'' the Bench stated.

"To expect these students to be good citizens who can do something for the country will be far-fetched,'' the Bench observed. The Bench further said if there was no Additional Commissioner (Education), the MCD Commissioner would be present in the Court on January 4 to apprise the Court of the reasons why these schools are not having the infrastructure.

The Bench also summoned in person Director (Education) of the Delhi Government in the matter.The High Court has been hearing a public interest litigation by Social Jurist, a non-governmental organisation, of Delhi High Court lawyer Ashok Aggarwal.In his submission, Mr. Aggarwal submitted that despite an order for installing water coolers in all these schools by the High Court, the local body failed to provide the facility.

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