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The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought responses from the Government of NCT of Delhi and the Lt Governor on PIL seeking for the basic infrastructure in government schools in the national capital with just and proper amenities.
The plea also stated that there is a need for the appointment of Principals and Vice-Principals in all Government schools in Delhi. A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad sought a response from the Delhi Government, Lt. Governor and State Council of Educational Research and Training while listing the matter for hearing on July 10. "There is further a need for appointment of permanent teachers in Delhi to ensure that the student ratio teacher is in place. There is further a need to ensure that Government schools in Delhi provide the basic streams of Education in higher classes i.e., Science, Arts and Commerce," the plea stated. Calling the Delhi government's decision to send the government teachers abroad "impugned", the plea said, "The Delhi Government has proposed an impugned decision or action to send the teachers in Government schools to international destinations like Finland, Cambridge etc. for the purpose of training Dehors the fact that government schools in Delhi are in shambles and require proper infrastructure, it is submitted that the proposed decision is without any intelligible criteria as there is no policy in place for the same." The petition has been moved by four teachers working in Delhi government-run schools namely Ajay Veer Yadav, Sandeep Kumar, Praveen Kumar Sharma and Shoyab Haider. The plea has been moved through Advocates Jyoti Taneja and Aastha Gupta submitted that the acute and rampant problem of shortage of teachers in Delhi Government Schools, whether at the primary or secondary level, is an alarming situation which requires the Delhi Government's immediate attention. The teachers claimed that the government schools are in shambles and in a dilapidated state with broken benches thrown outside, drinking water coolers in blemished condition and poor infrastructure with respect to the premises. "Students of several Delhi Government schools are compelled to study in open classes under the tree due to poor or complete lack of proper infrastructural facilities. Some schools are even being run in four shifts instead of two, due to lack of an adequate number of classrooms," it further said. The plea further mentioned that the schools of Delhi face an acute shortage of Manpower as, out of a total of 950 sanctioned posts for principals, only 154 have been filled while 796, or 83.7%, are lying vacant. Most of the schools are being run by vice-principals. Even in the case of vice-principals- of 1,670 sanctioned posts, 565 (about 34%) lie unfilled. The plea also submitted that many Delhi government schools do not have science and commerce streams in the Higher secondary classes and even the government schools which are offering these streams- "is alarmingly -uneven". Depriving students of taking science or commerce stream at the intermediate level amounts to depriving them of their right to choose a profession or carry on any occupation, trade or business of their own choice as guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India, plea read. (ANI)
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