The Delhi High Court on Wednesday pulled up the Municipal Corporations for poor quality infrastructure in its schools saying “it was time MCD schools have standard infrastructure.”
The court, while directing the civic body to place before it the quality of infrastructure in its primary schools said, “Time has come that you focus on it. I hope you have standards. If you don’t, it is time you have them,” stated a division bench of Acting Chief Justice BD Ahmed and Justice Vibhu Bhakru.
The bench also asked the civic bodies to indicate an alternative method of registering complaint against corporal punishment in its schools. The court directed the Delhi Government to have a certain standard of infrastructure in its schools. “We may clarify that by standard we mean standard size of the classrooms, standard size of school building given the number of students, standard with respect to playgrounds and other facilities,” the bench said.
“We must also not forget that some of the children may be disabled and what are the standards prescribed by the Corporation for them,” it asked the three municipal corporations. “Standards must be placed before us on the next date of hearing. We also direct the Government of Delhi to do a similar exercise for schools under them,” the bench said. Advocate Ashok Agarwal highlighted the issue of corporal punishment meted out to children in primary school against which the parents have no recourse except reporting the matter to the school principal, who also does not act on the complaints.
The counsel for the Corporation said complaints can be made to schools’ principals. “If a poor man’s child is beaten up, how does he know where to goIJ” the court said, adding “We direct that the Corporation will clearly indicate an alternative method of registering complaints vis-a-vis corporal punishment in schools.”
