In another controversy pertaining to Government schools in the national Capital, the parents association of Rani Durgawati Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya and two other schools in East Kidwai Nagar of South Delhi on Sunday put forward serious allegations on recent developments sanctioned by the Directorate of Education (DoE).
A few days back, the DoE had sanctioned an order stating that all the students in Government schools in this locality would be shifted to another school in INA Colony for the time being as the current building of the school needs to be demolished and reconstructed. However, parents have the contention that the school students are being shifted to has a bad crowd and is ‘unsafe for girls’.
Mohd Mustaqeen, a parent at the school said, “The school that the students are being shifted to is co-educational whereas most students being shifted are girls from Kanya Vidyalaya. Apart from that we have all heard regular reports about the notorious activities that take place in that school. Even teachers are not safe in the school, leave alone students.”
A letter was also sent to the lieutenant-Governor of Delhi, Najeeb Jung where parents have alleged that the Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in INA Colony has no sense of discipline. “You will always see students in that school bunking classes and playing truant. The teachers also take to corporal punishment at any opportunity they find,” informed Vaidnath Thakur, another parent.
Since the pressure being put by the parents is unlikely to bring about any change in the ruling, the parents are demanding a guarantee from the Dy DoE (South-East) NC Kaushik “for safeguarding their children in that school, providing them with the same facilities including teachers and assuring their re-entry into their previous schools after the new building is ready,” said Thakur.
However, Director of Education, Padmini Singla said that no degradation in the quality of education being provided to students will take place. She informed, “After having a Union Secretary level meeting, we all decided that since the construction by NBCC would take almost two years, it is in the welfare of the children that they are shifted to another school. If we don’t do this, we would be compromising on their education. Parents have approached us as well and they have mainly asked us for an assurance regarding their reentry into the school after two years. We will provide them with the written notice of assurance tomorrow.”
Singla added that the other issues had not come to her notice until now. “The issue regarding the same teachers be given to the students, we can only assure this much at the moment that the number of teachers in Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in INA Colony will be increased. As for corporal punishment and safety of girls, no case from this school has been reported to us. If the parents have an apprehension regarding it, we will definitely look deeply into the matter,” she informed.