‘How can we send blind children to the streets?’: No recognition certificate, Delhi’s Institute for the Blind to be shut in 2 weeks

The students, mostly from states including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, belong to economically backward backgrounds.

The notice, issued by Deputy Director (Education) Zone 26, cited the absence of a mandatory certificate of recognition due to lack of land allotment papers. It claimed that “no remedial action” was taken despite letters sent to the institute in 2019 highlighting “substantial and material deficiencies” in its application seeking recognition. Section 4 of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973 requires land documents as proof of ownership.

The institute’s administrative secretary, Jai Prakash Sharma, claimed that the management has filed an application seeking recognition on September 19, requesting that the land clause be waived. He also recalled that in 2013, the management had applied for recognition from the DOE. Sharma added that the institute received no reply to the application.

Founded in Lahore in 1939 and relocated to Delhi after Partition, the institute was set up following Mahatma Gandhi’s verbal instructions, officials from the institution said.

“This institute was set up at the behest of Mahatma Gandhi. We have approached all authorities for land allotment documents, including the SDM, Waqf Board and Land and Development Office (L&DO). How can we send blind children to the streets?” asked Sharma.

The DoE notice has directed that all academic and residential activities cease within two weeks, warning of penalties of up to Rs 1 lakh and Rs 10,000 per day for continued violations.

The institute, however, contested the DoE’s claims. “The infrastructure, including hostel rooms, kitchen and computer lab, is in good condition. These are wrong allegations,” said Sharma.

Maintaining that the NHRC had made no follow-up visits since raising safety concerns last year, he added that the institute holds a 2019 health No Objection Certificate from the New Delhi Municipal Council and a registration certificate from the Department of Social Welfare.

While a fact-finding team in September 2023 had reported gaps in basic infrastructure and safety arrangements found at the institute, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had flagged gaps based on a news report on June 30, 2023.

The DoE has also pointed to complaints from resident students about personal safety, including at least three POCSO cases in which three of the resident inmates were booked.

Denying that the school is unsafe, Sharma said, “We have tried to evict the resident students who are forcibly staying after completing Class 12 and sought the police’s help in the matter.”

A dispute related to the school is being heard by the Delhi High Court, which on August 13 had directed the DoE to file an affidavit on the institute’s recognition status and the validity of its actions.

For staffers like Surender Kohl, who has worked at the institute for 17 years, the uncertainty is deeply personal. “The students here come from poor backgrounds… We don’t know what will happen now. Some staff members have been here for 30 years. It is like a family here,” she said.

In 2006, the institute was recognised by the Limca Book of Records as the country’s oldest extant blind school. It has 35 rooms, 11 teachers, and provides four meals a day, along with free education till Class 8 and hostel facilities till Class 12 to the students. The institute has another school, which is recognised, for the visually impaired male students in Amar Colony.

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