The Delhi Commission for Women has summoned the Municipal Commissioner of Delhi (MCD) after the corporation has sought two months’ time to respond to the notice on the safety of girls in primary schools, the panel said on Thursday. . The DCW had launched a probe into the security situation of girls in Delhi’s primary schools after the alleged sexual assault of two minor girls in Bhajanpura on April 30.
The panel’s team had visited four primary schools of MCD in May and inspected school buildings as well as interacted with students, teachers and other school staff. During the course of inspection, several obvious irregularities and serious deficiencies were noticed by the commission, it had said. The DCW had asked the MCD commissioner to respond to the panel’s findings by June 9.
“It is shocking that instead of taking prompt action on our important findings, MCD has chosen to turn a blind eye to the safety and security of primary students. DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal said lakhs of lives are at stake due to the apathy of the MCD officials and has now sought two months’ time for the commission to respond.
The DCW said that the MCD has attributed the delay in their response to the recent integration of the three MCDs. There can be no excuse for further mismanagement and negligence, he added. “We will not let the MCD go free. I have summoned the MCD commissioner to appear before the DCW and submit the action taken report within a week. In its summons, the DCW stated that the MCD has “unreasonably” failed to provide vital information despite the grave danger posed to young students in MCD schools. “Any delay in rectifying the apparent abnormalities in MCD schools will render the office of the MCD commissioner liable for gross criminal negligence,” the panel said in a statement.
The Commission has further said that the MCD is expected to act swiftly and immediately take corrective measures on the issue of safety and security of children and teachers in schools. DCW had visited four primary schools of MCD in May. In a school premises inspected by the DCW on May 20 and 21, the panel claimed it found syringes, drugs, cigarette cases, gutka wrappers and even broken liquor bottles.
The panel had said that there was overcrowding in four schools and it was clear that norms of teacher-student ratio were not being followed. Responding to the allegations in a statement, the civic body said that the broken syringe was found only due to the existence of a corporation dispensary near the school located in the park. It also said that the MCD school at Bhati Mines is facing difficulty in providing good facilities as it is located on forest department land, while the corporation school at Aruna Nagar will be renovated soon.
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