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Almirahs as ‘walls', 2 shifts: In Mumbai school, Classes 1-8 students are in one hall since 2022
For the students of a civic body-run Marathi-medium school in Mumbai's Mankhurd, the biggest concern since 2022 has been the long walk home. Never mind that nearly 100 of them have been 'temporarily' crammed inside one big multipurpose hall — with steel almirahs serving as 'walls' instead of partitions — for almost three years now.
A recent video shot by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Ravi Gawas inside the hall brought the issue to light.
Under this makeshift arrangement, the students of Mankhurd Marathi-Medium School No 1 have been studying in shifts inside a 1,000-square-foot hall on the sixth floor of the Maharashtra Nagar BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) School, also in Mankhurd. While the morning shift comprises 87 students of Classes 6-8, around 100 students of Classes 1-5 study in the same space in the afternoon.
Completed in 2020, the six-floor Maharashtra Nagar BMC School was built under the civic body's new brand name for its schools — Mumbai Public School (MPS). The English-medium school was completed in 2020. Its top-floor hall, originally designed for school functions and events, has been doubling as a makeshift school space since 2022.
Mumbai Public Schools offer free education, along with 27 essential items, including uniforms, textbooks, shoes, raincoats, and a mid-day meal.
Before moving to their new address, the students of the Marathi-medium school and those from four others — Marathi-medium school no 2, Hindi-medium, Urdu-medium and lower primary school — studied in the same BMC school building near Mankhurd railway station. Declared 'dilapidated', the building was demolished in 2022. Its reconstruction is yet to start.
After the demolition, students from all five schools were moved to the Maharashtra Nagar School. While the Hindi-medium students were shifted to the Deonar BMC School, around 4 km away, a year later, four schools continue to function out of the Maharashtra Nagar School building.
Three of these four schools have been allotted one floor each at their new address, giving them enough space to conduct separate classes. However, the Marathi-medium school, given its relatively low enrollment, has had to make do with the multipurpose hall, where even the stage serves as a 'separate' classroom.
Despite attempts, The Indian Express was denied entry inside the school by the administration.
As he exited the premises after the morning shift, a Class 6 student of the Marathi-medium school told The Indian Express, 'My class is near the main door of the hall. My class has three rows — two for boys and one for girls. A few cupboards separate us from Class 8. Students of Class 7 sit on the stage area.'
To a question on whether their sixth-floor arrangements caused confusion or distractions during lessons, a group of students walking home after school paused, looked at each other and shrugged. 'Not really. Each class is focused on its own lessons,' said one.
Another student chimed in, 'You can hear bits from the other classes, but if you're paying attention to your teacher, it's fine.'
However, both parents and students had one complaint — the distance. The Maharashtra Nagar School is located nearly 3 km from their Mankhurd Gaon homes, while the now-demolished school was barely two minutes away for most.
Though parents acknowledged this inconvenience, most were hesitant to speak out against the administration. One parent said, 'I am scared that my child will face the consequences at school if I say something. All of us feel that this temporary arrangement is better than opting for a private school, something that most of us cannot afford.'
A parent who had come to drop off her child, a student of the primary school at the now-demolished building, said, 'My sister's children studied there (at the demolished school) and praised its teachers. That is why I got my child enrolled there. While the current situation is not ideal, we know it's temporary.'
MNS leader Gawas, who shot the viral video, says he has submitted a formal complaint to the BMC's Education Department and the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
He said, 'Just because education is free, should children be crammed into a hall? What's the point of free education if there aren't enough classrooms?'
Calling the delay in the reconstruction of their school building a 'violation' of their right to education, he added, 'The situation raises serious questions about the BMC's intent to rebuild these schools, especially since the old building was in a prime location.'
Taking cognizance of the issue, the BMC's Education Department had sought a review report from local officers. The report states that 87 children attend classes in the morning session and around 100 children in the afternoon session in the same hall.
Education Officer Rajesh Kankal said, 'The hall can accommodate 300 persons at a time, which means the students have not been crammed inside. The school also has an adequate number of teachers. It was supposed to get real partitions, which never happened. Wooden partitions to separate the classes will be provided on priority.'
Calling this a 'temporary arrangement', he added, 'Another BMC school is almost ready for handover in the locality. Some of these schools will be relocated there soon, reducing the number of schools housed in the Maharashtra Nagar BMC school building.'
To a question on the status of the original building at Mankhurd Gaon, he said it will have to be reviewed. 'The relocation of the school is a cyclic process since some buildings require heavy repair works or complete restructuring,' he said.
