Delhi Civic Body To Auction 60 Campuses Even As Student Number Rises
New Delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has hit on a unique scheme to bolster its finances: the civic body plans to auction 60 school campuses for construction of malls and hotels even as it struggles to cater to the educational needs of nine lakh children, mainly from economically-weak families, who are enrolled in MCD schools.
A proposal to auction 15 of the identified schools has been forwarded to the MCD commissioner even as the body faces increasing pressure to cater to more students. Swapping schools for poor kids for malls is not only controversial but could well smack of a scam as the MCD had originally planned to sell off nine schools but has now increased this to 60. The MCD’s reasoning is that the schools are lying vacant and unused. But the civic body seems to have forgotten that it is charged with providing an essential service through its neighbourhood schools—often the only option for a vulnerable section of the city population—and not handing over prime plots to developers. The demand for schools, in particular those offering education at reasonable costs, is unlikely to flag off.
Confirming the MCD’s plans, Prithviraj Sahni, chairman of the corporation’s education committee, told TOI, “We have identified 60 schools that have been lying vacant for the last few years. A proposal to auction 15 for commercial purpose has already been forwarded to commissioner K S Mehra.” Experts point out the number of children who do not get access to primary schools remains high, estimated between 3 lakh and 5 lakh, considering the city’s large migrant population.
The civic body’s refusal to consider reviving the schools is surprising, considering that the Delhi government has repeatedly asked the corporation to hand over the campuses to it as state-run schools are overflowing with students and lack space and infrastructure. The MCD runs 65% of primary schools, the others are managed by the NDMC, government or private parties.
While Sahni said the corporation was moving ahead on the plan to auction the schools, the MCD commissioner claimed he was not aware of any such proposal.
Nitin Sethi & Ruhi Bhasin | TNN
New Delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has hit on a unique scheme to bolster its finances: the civic body plans to auction 60 school campuses for construction of malls and hotels even as it struggles to cater to the educational needs of nine lakh children, mainly from economically-weak families, who are enrolled in MCD schools.
A proposal to auction 15 of the identified schools has been forwarded to the MCD commissioner even as the body faces increasing pressure to cater to more students. Swapping schools for poor kids for malls is not only controversial but could well smack of a scam as the MCD had originally planned to sell off nine schools but has now increased this to 60. The MCD’s reasoning is that the schools are lying vacant and unused. But the civic body seems to have forgotten that it is charged with providing an essential service through its neighbourhood schools—often the only option for a vulnerable section of the city population—and not handing over prime plots to developers. The demand for schools, in particular those offering education at reasonable costs, is unlikely to flag off.
Confirming the MCD’s plans, Prithviraj Sahni, chairman of the corporation’s education committee, told TOI, “We have identified 60 schools that have been lying vacant for the last few years. A proposal to auction 15 for commercial purpose has already been forwarded to commissioner K S Mehra.” Experts point out the number of children who do not get access to primary schools remains high, estimated between 3 lakh and 5 lakh, considering the city’s large migrant population.
The civic body’s refusal to consider reviving the schools is surprising, considering that the Delhi government has repeatedly asked the corporation to hand over the campuses to it as state-run schools are overflowing with students and lack space and infrastructure. The MCD runs 65% of primary schools, the others are managed by the NDMC, government or private parties.
While Sahni said the corporation was moving ahead on the plan to auction the schools, the MCD commissioner claimed he was not aware of any such proposal.
IN DEEP WATERS: Swapping 60 schools for malls smacks of a scam as the MCD had originally planned to auction the land of only nine educational campuses
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