NEW DELHI: For years, the primary school located between Chandpur and Chhota Chandpur villages in northwest Delhi meant that young children could walk to their classrooms within minutes, without relying on buses or their parents to accompany them. But since the school was merged with another municipal school several kilometres away on July 1, the familiar walk to school has given way to uncertainty. Residents claim that not a single student from the school has joined the new campus so far, with children instead staying home.Among them are the two grandsons of Jai Prakash, a daily-wage labourer, who study in Classes II and IV. Their books remain at home as the family struggles to work out how the children can reach the Salahpur Majra school.“They are too young to travel on their own. Even if they take a bus for part of the journey, they have to walk nearly a kilometre to reach it and another kilometre after getting down. If I drop them every morning and bring them back, when will I work?” Jai Prakash said.
“We survive on daily labour. It will also increase our expenses.”In June, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s Education Department approved the merger of Chandpur coeducational primary school with Salahpur Majra co-educational primary school in the Narela Zone as part of an exercise aimed at administrative efficiency. The merged institution will continue under the name of the Salahpur Majra school, while proposals have been sought for the adjustment of teachers and other staff rendered surplus. The officials are supposed to submit a compliance report by July 15.Residents, however, said the decision has left nearly 50 children from Classes I to V without a practically accessible school. According to them, the Chandpur school, which also served children from Chhota Chandpur and families working at the nearby Bawana Gaushala, had existed for at least five to six decades.A few days ago, tensions rose when officials began moving furniture and other material from the Chandpur premises. Villagers gathered and attempted to stop the shifting, following which, residents claimed, the school gate was locked by the civic body. They have since submitted a representation to the MCD director of education seeking withdrawal of the merger. Queries sent to the MCD’s director of education did not elicit a response.“This school has been here for as long as I can remember. I studied here too,” said Bharat Singh Kashyap, Chandpur RWA head. “It was located between the two villages, so children could walk to school independently. Now they are expected to travel four to five kilometres. Villagers, parents and students were neither consulted nor told what would happen to this land.”The journey, residents said, involves walking arounda kilometre to a bus stop, travelling up to Budhanpur Majra and then walking another one to 1.5 kilometres through narrow lanes to reach Salahpur Majra. Public transport covers only part of the route and parents said it was neither convenient nor reliable enough for children as young as six.The concern is sharper for girls. Residents said families were unlikely to allow young girls to negotiate long walks, changing transport and narrow or relatively isolated stretches without an adult. Accompanying them daily, however, is difficult for households dependent on daily wages or small businesses.Vijay, a barber who spends the day at his shop, said, “I cannot leave work twice every day to drop and pick up my child. For people like us, every hour away means lost income. There is no reliable transport that small children can use independently.”The condition of the school building also lies at the centre of the dispute. Residents said the main structure was declared dangerous in 2016 and had since remained unused. Classes continued in a separate yellow-painted building within the premises, which villagers said was also in poor condition but had accommodated students for nearly a decade.Residents maintained thatthey were not demanding that children study in an unsafe structure. Instead, they want the old building demolished and reconstructed, with students shifted temporarily until a new campus is ready.“If the structure is dangerous, it should be repaired or rebuilt. We are willing to accept a temporary shift during construction,” said Narayan Singh, a resident. “But permanently merging the school with one four to five kilometres away is not a solution. Parents are particularly worried about girls. The school should return to this location once a new building is ready.”Krishan Dabas, another resident, said requests ha\d repeatedly been made since 2016 for the unsafe structure to be demolished and rebuilt. “We wrote to the councillor, the Mayor and MCD officials, but nothing happened. Now, instead of rebuilding the school, the school itself is being removed,” he said.According to Dabas, none of the nearly 50 children had begun attending the Salapur \Majra school. Some teachers had reportedly been shifted there, while residents claimed others were yet to receive clear instructions.Villagers have also questioned what is planned for the vacated premises and sought clarity on the ownership and future use of the land.
