NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday expressed its dissatisfaction with the failure to provide textbooks and other study materials to students in schools run by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), stating that it is “not a happy situation”.
A bench led by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan, during the hearing on a PIL addressing the issue, urged the commissioner of MCD to visit these schools and oversee their operations.
“We leave it to you. If you are happy with the content of work that has been done by your staff, we can only say good luck to you. And if you don’t want to take action against your negligent officers, even better luck to you. We have brought it to your notice. We don’t think it is a scorecard to be proud of. It doesn’t cover MCD with any glory. It is not a happy
situation,” the bench, also comprising Justice Manmeet PS Arora, said.
“Please visit the MCD schools and find out. Only when you start visiting, schools will come into shape. Until you monitor, nothing will happen,” the bench told the official.
MCD commissioner Gyanesh Bharti, who appeared virtually, informed the court that aside from textbooks, provided by the Delhi government, students receive cash reimbursements for other statutory benefits like uniforms and stationery via bank transfers. He added that around two lakh students do not have bank accounts, but efforts to open them are ongoing on a “war-footing”.
The delay in supplying textbooks, according to Bharti, was due to the lack of a standing committee authorized to approve contracts exceeding Rs 5 crore. The court, however, said that the absence of a standing committee should not create a vacuum, and the Delhi government should delegate financial authority to another competent body. The court ordered that this be resolved within two working days.
Advocate Ashok Agarwal, appearing for petitioner NGO Social Jurist, argued that no books or stationery have been made available to the seven lakh students in MCD schools, and one of the schools was functioning from a tin shed, leaving the students with nothing to do.
The MCD commissioner claimed the process of supplying textbooks was going on and would be completed soon. Considering that there were no textbooks, the court wondered if the students were “not studying at all”. It deplored the “rather negligent” approach of the authorities because of which textbooks were not published in time for the new academic year.
“(Children) are promoted to new classes. If they are not studying at all, they will lose interest in school itself. There will be harmful effects on students. They are going to a new class without any books, uniforms...They will start studying only after (summer) vacations. Do you realise the consequences of all this?” the court said.
The court also emphasised the need for adequate drinking water and proper washrooms in the schools and instructed the Delhi government to file an action-taken report. The matter was scheduled for further hearing on May 7.