Hundreds of students at risk as NGOs face eviction from govt school buildings

The future of hundreds of children hangs in the balance as six NGOs, which have been conducting classes in government school buildings for years, may soon be forced to shut down.

Officials said on April 11 that the NGOs are not officially recognized and have encroached on school premises.

However, the NGOs claim they have been operating for years and pay a monthly rent to the district child welfare department.

According to their management, many government schools refuse to admit students into higher grades because their primary education institutions are not officially recognized.

“We have been teaching these students for more than a decade now. We pay monthly rent to the child welfare department to use the government school building. After 5th standard, we try to enroll these students in government schools, but most of the time they are rejected. So, we place them in private schools and cover their fees,” said Mohini Sood, head of the Sankalp Welfare Society in DLF-4.

Since 2004, Sankalp Welfare Society has been running classes in a government elementary school, with over 350 students currently enrolled in grades 1 to 5.

Similarly, Saksham Bal Vikas teaches around 300 students at a government school in Sushant Lok.

“If we don’t teach these students, they’ll have no access to education. Most of them are school dropouts—children of migrant laborers who frequently move. We’re simply helping them receive a basic education. We have classrooms up to the 8th standard and have been operating in this government school building since 2008,” said a spokesperson for the NGO.

According to education department officials, the elementary school was only functional from 2001 to 2003. Saksham Bal Vikas also stated that it pays monthly rent to the child welfare department.

The other four NGOs operate in government school buildings located in Sector 46, Chauma, Nathupur, and DLF-1.

On April 11, District Education Officer Indu Boken said that none of the six NGOs have been granted permission by the education department to conduct classes on school premises.

“If they claim to be paying monthly rent to the child welfare department, that’s unauthorized. These buildings fall under the jurisdiction of the education department. We will be inspecting all these NGOs on Saturday,” the DEO said.