Every day, 210 girls come to learn at this Ghaziabad govt school – except it isn’t officially there

“I have been trying to get the approval from the government since I was appointed,” said Seema Shrivastava, who was appointed as Principal by the Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam in 2022. She added that she has visited the office of the Madhyamik Siksha board in Meerut several times seeking recognition.

She further said that the school was earlier attached as a feeder school to a government school in Sahibabad, but it was attached to a government school at Mehrauli in Ghaziabad this year.

Shrivastava said the school has 14 teachers, including her, and around 210 students, most of whom belong to the Dalit community. “We are dependent on other recognised schools for our students to be allowed to appear for Board exams. It is the responsibility of Nagar Nigam to get the recognition,” she added.

“The school also has two security guards, three sevikas (helpers), and two safai karamcharis. All of them have been hired by the Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam on a permanent basis,” Shrivastava said.

“All the girls studying here belong to weaker sections,” said a teacher. “Most of the parents are small-time labourers or work as domestic helps. We depend on NGOs for books and uniforms… Most of the time, it is the teachers who donate clothes and stitch their dresses.”

“While 27 study in Class 6, 56 study in Class 7, 58 in Class 8, 40 in Class 9 and 29 in Class 10. Around 20 students did not appear in school exams this year,” said Shrivastava.

Classes in the school began in 2022 with nearly 50 students and three teachers, she said. “When I applied for the recognition, we did not get it, as we did not fulfill the required standards… The school then had only seven rooms… to get recognition, a school should have at least 14 rooms. We also needed furniture, which was not available back then.”

She further said that she was told to adhere to the National Building Code and also that the name of the school should be on ‘Khatauni’ – a document that carries information related to the land. “We did not have the name of the school in the Khatauni,” she said.

In March, a group of parents of students studying in the school had reached out to the Ghaziabad Parents Association seeking help to get recognition for the school after their children were denied admission in classes 9 and 10.

Manoj Kshyap (35), who works as an electrician, said that in March, the school announced that it would not give admission to students in class 9. He then shifted both his daughter and niece to a government in Delhi.

“I earn Rs 7,000 a month… We spend Rs 40 every day on to-and-fro fare. The school fee is Rs 2,100. In the previous school, we used to pay Rs 600. I have to ensure that my three other children also get educated. The school has now refused to enrol them and sent them back. These children are our only hope,” he said.

When contacted, Ghaziabad Additional Municipal Commissioner Arun Yadav said the process of granting recognition to the school was taking time because it required students, a good building, and teachers. “Initially, the land was not in the name of the school, but now we have initiated the process and the land has been registered in the school’s name,” he added.

Asked if a school built by the Nagar Nigam can run without authorisation, Ghaziabad Mayor Sunita Dayal said, “At least we built the school. The land was being encroached, and that is why we constructed the building. There are very few schools in the area and there are many children. If we do not get the authorisation, we will shift the students to nearby schools.”

Ghaziabad Basic Shikhsha Adhikari O P Yadav said the school never applied for permission to run classes till Class 8. “Now the entire process is online, but the school has still not applied for permission,” he added.

Yadav said three schools in the area are recognised by the BSA. “These are located at Pappu Colony, Sikanderpur and Tulsi Niketan,” he added.

Meanwhile, District Magistrate Deepak Meena said he did not have any information about the school, but had learnt that the approval regarding its recognition was “pending over some land issue”. “Now that the matter has come to my notice, I will get it inspected,” he added.