Fiberglass desks for schools

By Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI, SEPT.19.

In a move aimed at protecting the deteriorating ecological situation and discouraging the use of expensive wood, the Delhi Government has decided to discard wooden desks in government schools across the Capital. These would be replaced by sleek colourful fibreglass furniture for students up to Class VI and concrete kota stone designer finish desks for those up to Standard XII.

The Chief Minister, Ms. Sheila Dikshit, the brain behind the initiative, said the step to eliminate wooden desks, a regular feature, was taken in the interest of protecting the environment and putting an end to recurring expenditure. The new furniture is expected to be cost-effective and lasting. Compared to wooden desks which are replaced virtually every year, the concrete designer desks would not require replacement for years.

Giving details about the initiative, the Delhi Education Minister, Dr. Narendra Nath, said concrete desks were already being built in the semi-pucca structures of the various school premises. It is estimated that in the first phase, nearly 300 rooms would be provided with 15,000 concrete desks, spread over 250 schools. Similarly, all school buildings coming up in future would have provision for concrete desks on the ground floor. These would be provided in a theatre-like structure with construction of a ramp.

The cost of building concrete desks in a room would be around Rs. 50,000. One desk would have the capacity to seat five children. During the winter months when it gets cold, children would be provided with mats to keep their seats warm. At the same time, wooden desks were also being purchased and during the current year, 50,000-odd wooden desks had been distributed among various schools. The Education Department was getting a supply of more than 1,500 wooden desks from Tihar Jail every month.

The introduction of concrete desks with kota stone finish would also eliminate the process of inviting tenders every year for new wooden desks. The durability of these desks is expected to be high and the initial feedback was that children have appreciated these desks. At the suggestion of the Chief Minister, the Department of Education has also enrolled the services of architects to design student friendly comfortable desks.

With regard to the classes up to the Standard VI, Dr. Nath said it had been decided to purchase colourful fibreglass molded furniture. Although the cost was being worked out, this would not only enhance the aesthetic look of the classroom, but would also go down well with the children. Over one lakh students up to the Standard VI are expected to be provided with this furniture in the next few months.

Dr. Nath said the Finance Minister, Mr. Mahinder Singh Saathi, had promised to provide funds for this project and it was expected that everything would be place by the end of this financial year. ``We want to go full steam with this programme and for this all necessary measures are being taken. We expect to give a new look to our classrooms from the next academic year onwards,'' the Minister remarked.

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