Indian Express 30.09.2009

After stampede protests, govt to build new girls’ school nearby

A school will be built at the MCD primary school in Sri Ram Colony after residents of the colony in East Delhi said they would not send their girls to the Khajuri Khas school following the fatal stampede there on September 10.

The announcement was made by Delhi Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely’s office on Tuesday.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has agreed to provide space to run the school. Between 800 and 1,000 girl students from Class VI to XII can attend the school once the government builds it, it was announced.

“The school will be ready in about three months,” Lovely’s spokesperson said. “We sent a letter to the MCD asking them to let us take over the school under the Roopantar project.”

One of the recommendations made by T C Nakh, the Northeast zone Deputy Commissioner who made an investigation report into the stampede, is to move the girls’ shift to another location to avoid such incidents.

Among the main reasons that led to the stampede was the merger of the shifts for boys and girls. Five students had died and more than 30 were injured in the September 10 incident.

According to the official in Lovely’s office, girls will have to attend the Khajuri Khas school until the new school is built. “We are doing the paperwork and that takes time,” he said.

The government has proposed that it will build the MCD school and upgrade its infrastructure under the Roopantar project and accommodate the girl students.

The Delhi government has already terminated the principal of the Government Boys Senior Secondary School, Khajuri Khas, and suspended the then in-charge of the girls’ school. It has also initiated an inquiry against the deputy director of education of the zone and transferred six teachers from the school.

Two new principals have been appointed for the school, officials said. One of them has been transferred from a government school in Nand Nagri, they added.

Officials also said the government is ready to hear the grievances of parents and students in Khajuri Khas and will ensure that education of students in the area is not disrupted.