The doorway to the Municipal Company of Delhi (MCD) highschool in South Delhi’s Chhattarpur, Bhatti Mines, lies in the course of a rubbish dump. Throughout the monsoon, residents say the scholars must make their means by way of accrued rubbish and floodwater to achieve the campus. The college, which has a power of about 2500 college students, has one other entrance, however it provides little respite. It’s positioned by way of an deserted park, beside half-built brick buildings that residents allege are the opposite half of the college.
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Inside the college, different issues stay. Questions concerning the unavailability of consuming water, functioning followers, and washrooms stay unanswered. For folks and residents within the space, these will not be new issues.
These are a few of the points that the Cockroach Janta Get together (CJP) documented by way of its ‘Faculty Theek Karo’ (repair the college) marketing campaign, which goals to enhance colleges throughout the nation, guarantee higher entry to training for kids, and to encourage mother and father and native residents to demand higher services in authorities colleges.
The marketing campaign was launched on August 15th by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke at a authorities faculty in his native village of Santuk Pimpri in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district. As a part of the marketing campaign, CJP volunteers have been visiting authorities colleges, upon requests from native residents, and documenting primary services by way of audit types protecting features reminiscent of consuming water, educating employees, high quality of mid-day meals and sanitation services.
On August 17th, CJP co-convenor Saurav Das and different volunteers visited two authorities colleges in Sanjay Colony, Bhatti Mines- Municipal Company Delhi (MCD) Major Co-ed Faculty and MCD Co-ed Excessive Faculty.
A video posted by CJP confirmed damaged washrooms, non-functional water faucets and broken roofs. A subsequent floor go to, nevertheless, revealed a extra difficult image.
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On the MCD major faculty, water dispensers appeared to have been fastened, and the washrooms have been practical. Nonetheless, mother and father current on the website mentioned entry to consuming water remained inconsistent. They alleged that kids usually should not have consuming water and that oldsters typically obtain calls from the college when their kids want to make use of the bathroom.
A member of the college administration, talking on situation of anonymity, mentioned water shortage remained a problem as a result of the college makes use of borewell water from the close by temple. Faculty employees additionally alleged that they’d submitted a number of functions and complaints concerning the shortage of water services however had not acquired a constructive response.
Monkey menace
Then there exists one other concern that’s tougher to repair with a upkeep request: monkeys. Mother and father on website have been seen taking their 7-year-old son to the physician after he had been bitten by a monkey whereas attempting to make use of the washroom. A employees member, who didn’t want to be named, alleged that round two to a few kids are bitten or attacked by monkeys each month, together with whereas attempting to make use of the washrooms.
For CJP volunteers and Resident Welfare Affiliation (RWA) members who accompanied the go to, the issues level to gaps that they are saying require authorities intervention. “A trainer’s job is to show, however sustaining the infrastructure of a authorities faculty is finally the federal government’s accountability,” mentioned a member of the RWA who didn’t want to be named.
On the neighbouring MCD highschool, the issues are much more in depth. The college has related issues with washrooms, non-functioning followers, and an absence of water dispensers. The washrooms that have been seen to be non-functional in CJP’s video, nevertheless, couldn’t be independently corroborated in the course of the floor go to as a result of the college authorities didn’t enable inspection of them.
“Because the followers will not be functioning, many kids faint within the warmth,” mentioned an RWA member who accompanied the CJP crew.
Nikhil, an alumnus of the college, who now works with an NGO offering major training to underprivileged kids, mentioned that the deterioration of the services came about over time. “Through the years, the services and general situation of the college have deteriorated,” he mentioned.
The college’s infrastructure issues are additionally tied to a long-running dispute over the land on which it stands. The land was notified as a part of the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary in 1991 by the Forest Division. The Directorate of Training (DoE), nevertheless, argues that the college has been performing on the location for the reason that Eighties and that the land was donated to the Delhi authorities by the Gram Sabha in 1986. The Forest Settlement Officer, in an order handed in September 2025, accepted the DoE’S declare concerning the land’s standing and excluded 36 bighas from the proposed forest space.
Nonetheless, based on the order, the land can’t be faraway from the Wildlife Sanctuary by way of these proceedings, and the Training Division was directed to strategy the competent discussion board individually. The development of a everlasting faculty constructing subsequently stays unresolved.
For a college serving round 2,500 college students, the authorized dispute is just one a part of the issue. Even moving into the college can change into troublesome in the course of the rains, when the route by way of the rubbish dump is flooded.
Denied entry
The identical questions concerning the primary functioning of the federal government colleges surfaced once more in Delhi when CJP volunteers visited the Authorities Co-ed Senior Secondary Faculty in Tulsi Nagar, Inderlok on August 24, 2026.
The crew led by volunteer Mohan Yadav, was knowledgeable concerning the faculty’s situations by a resident whose kids research there. The resident, on situation of anonymity, alleged that college students confronted issues with consuming water, academics, washrooms and followers.
“Youngsters want primary services like clear consuming water, functioning bathrooms and followers within the lecture rooms for youths to have a correct research atmosphere,” the resident mentioned.
However not like at Bhatti Mines, senior academics current on the website refused the CJP crew permission to enter and examine the premises, asking the volunteers to acquire permission from the DoE.
Scarcity of academics was a priority raised by the individuals on website. Academics, talking on situation of anonymity, mentioned the college presently had 28 college members, together with contractual or visitor academics. Mother and father, nevertheless, alleged that Class 12 college students didn’t have Historical past and Arithmetic academics, leading to mixed courses and insufficient consideration to college students.
After being denied entry, the volunteers recorded a video outdoors the college to be posted on social media and left the premises.
The CJP’s makes an attempt to examine colleges have additionally confronted resistance and objection in different elements of the nation. In Jaipur, CJP protesters led by co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka have been allegedly attacked whereas on their approach to examine a authorities faculty. A volunteer suffered a fractured arm and their automobiles have been broken. In West Bengal, CJP volunteer Shaikh Abdul Hafeez and his father have been allegedly assaulted by a mob throughout an inspection of a authorities faculty as a part of his marketing campaign. His father later died of injuries attributable to the assault.
For Mr. Yadav, the aim of the visits shouldn’t be merely to provide an inventory of irregularities. “The marketing campaign is meant to encourage mother and father and residents to change into conscious of the situation of colleges of their neighbourhoods in order that they’ll demand their proper to training,” he mentioned.
Six months after a promise
For Mr. Yadav, the aim of the visits shouldn’t be merely to provide an inventory of irregularities. “The marketing campaign is meant to encourage mother and father and residents to change into conscious of the situation of colleges of their neighbourhoods in order that they’ll demand their proper to training,” he mentioned.
This demand significantly resonates in Bhatti Mines, the place residents say they’ve already sought State intervention.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta visited the world round six months in the past. She addressed the situation of the college and promised to assist restore it, in a video posted on her Instagram account. Six months later, residents say most of the identical issues stay.
Fundamental infrastructure protection in Delhi’s colleges is excessive on paper. UDISE+ 2024-25 knowledge exhibits that electrical energy protection in Delhi colleges was full. Purposeful boys’ and women’ bathrooms have been obtainable in 99.7% and 100% of colleges, respectively. Nonetheless, solely 75.7% had practical sensible lecture rooms. The Delhi authorities has proposed ₹19,148 crore for training in its 2026-27 Finances, together with ₹200 crore for brand new faculty buildings and ₹275 crore for varsity enlargement.
But visits by CJP volunteers to authorities colleges have raised questions concerning the situation and functioning of primary services reminiscent of consuming water, bathrooms, and followers. It underlines the hole between what authorities colleges are anticipated to supply and what college students expertise on the bottom.
However for CJP, documenting these gaps is barely step one. The bigger goal is to encourage mother and father and native communities to query the situations of the faculties their kids attend and demand accountability from these liable for sustaining them.
Whether or not these calls for translate into higher services stays to be seen. For now, the marketing campaign is pushing the dialog past enrolment and entry, in the direction of a extra primary query: what are kids going through as soon as they enter the classroom? For the mother and father and youngsters who rely upon these colleges, the solutions they’re searching for are easy: a college that’s protected, practical and outfitted with the essential services wanted to be taught.
(Ifrah Asim is a contract journalist and postgraduate journalism scholar at Jamia Millia Islamia)
