NEW DELHI: Pretty Cambridge school in East Delhi’s Trilokpuri is among several hundred unrecognised schools that may be closed after a Delhi government order issued in February. As many as 3,000 such schools are currently operational in the city with over 10 lakh student enrolment this year, according to Delhi State Public School’s Management Association.
Parents and teachers are worried with the government’s apathy towards the future of these students in the absence of other alternatives when the next academic session is only two weeks away.
“I have three children, all studying in Nankai Public School, an unrecognised school in Dakshinpuri,” said Aarti, who works as a helper in the same school. “The future of my children is at stake since the government issued an order on termination of the school.”
Most children studying at these unrecognised schools come from economically backward families. In most cases, the families struggle to send kids to these schools in the absence of quality education in the government-run schools.
“Look around the locality we live in,” says Sushil Kumar, 30, who has a daughter studying in Pretty Cambridge School. “If I send her to a government school, I know she would become like everyone else here. I want better future for her."
Anita Pawar is a mother of a class III boy studying at an unrecognised school in Mukundpur. Her husband works as a driver and does not earn enough to afford a private school. But they both want their child to be “well educated”. “Children are not taught well in government schools. A Class V student at a government school cannot answer a question from Class I. That’s big the difference. So, why should I send my child to such school?” Anita said.
“Our school has around 700 students —most of them from poor families that cannot afford private schools. However, they want their children to have private school-like education. I want to ask the government if they have enough schools to accommodate these students?” Umesh Kumar, who runs Vijay Public School in Trilokpuri asserts.