NEW DELHI: As Ms. Begum, the in-charge of an MCD primary school in Kucha Pandit in Old Delhi, prepares for her retirement next month, her worry is palpable. “With the other teacher going on six months’ leave, there will be no one left to take classes,” she says, overseeing 112 students and seven fresh admissions. “The only person remaining will be the Special Educator assigned for children with special needs. But how can one teacher run a whole school?”
The problems echoed by Ms. Begum paints a grim picture across many such primary Urdu- medium schools run by MCD (from nursery to standard fifth). Despite student enrollment as high as 600 - issues of inadequate infrastructure, lesser staff, poor teacher to student ratios, overburdening on teachers due to barely any hiring are persistent.
Her school, she recalled, was staffed with six teachers before the pandemic. “Post-COVID, I was alone until 2021 when another teacher joined, and one more was transferred in 2023. We have no principal. As an Urdu-medium school, we need Urdu teachers, but English-medium teachers are transferred here. How will they teach students or read their textbooks?” she asks, adding that she has sent repeated letters requesting more staff. “If no help comes, I may have to consider postponing my retirement.”
‘Six of 11 schools shut, no new ones opened’
The decline is not limited to one school. Rafia Mahir, the councillor of the ward, alleges that six of the 11 MCD schools in Sitaram Ward have shut down over the years, citing dwindling enrollment and teacher shortages. “Instead of opening new schools, half were shut. No surveys to assess enrollment trends have been conducted by MCD in the past five years. These surveys once guided policies and encouraged admissions,” she says.
The few remaining schools of the five still using Urdu as the medium of instruction are struggling to survive. Others have been gradually converted to English-Hindi medium institutions. Mahir says she is pushing to reopen a relatively newer school in Raziya Begum, built a decade ago.
However, she suggests adopting English as the medium, with Urdu as a mandatory subject. “Parents increasingly prefer English-medium education, though Urdu-medium schools still hold relevance,” she adds. A Parent, on the need of Urdu schools, said, “We want a basic good education for our kids, in our language, so we can help them and they can at least read our holy scriptures.”
Poor teacher to student ratio: ‘No hiring in 15 years’
The situation violates the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which prescribes a 1:30 teacher-student ratio. In Bulbuli Khana, an MCD school with over 400 students, only two teachers manage classes across all grades.
One, a Special Educator, juggles teaching nursery, first, and third grades simultaneously in a single room. “Three different grades in one classroom mean overlapping language of instructions and little individual attention,” a teacher said, requesting anonymity. “Attendance is about 70% daily, but the burden of teaching and official paperwork falls entirely on us. There’s no principal or clerical staff. So, we manage everything”
In Lambi Gali, the principal says just two of six teachers are qualified in Urdu, while others are from English-medium backgrounds. “One teacher handles two sections with over 50 students each. The Urdu teacher hired in 2010 on contract has still not been regularised. There have been no new recruitments despite urgent need,” she adds.
Crumbling infra and limited funds
Beyond staff shortages, infrastructure woes plague these schools. Many operate in partition-era havelis, which are now hazardous for children. At Bhojla Pahari, the principal says part of their building is barricaded due to safety concerns. “But when children play outside, we must constantly supervise to avoid mishaps,” she adds.
Teachers often dip into their own pockets for minor repairs, but major work like new classrooms remains unaddressed. Mahir recalls, “After multiple requests, Rs 4 lakh was finally allocated and used to build toilet blocks and repair roofs in two schools.”
Of the Rs 17 crore MCD budget for 2025–26, 9.96% is earmarked for education, while the Delhi government allocates Rs. 3,560 crore to MCD for education this year.
“The narrow lanes and congestion make getting NOCs for construction tedious. Even after planning segmented constructions, we hit another hurdle—fund allocation. New schools can only be built using MCD funds, not MLA, MP, or councillor funds,” Mahir explains.