The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is considering launching mobile school buses where children of labourers as well as homeless children may study and learn. The idea was inspired by Gujarat’s ‘school on wheels’ initiative.
NDMC vice-chairperson Satish Upadhyay said,’ It is a great initiative started by Gujarat and we are planning to implement the same here. Although, if compared to Delhi, Gujarat is a big state. While in Delhi, if you notice in the New Delhi area there is a school every kilometre – be it an NDMC or Delhi government school. One school is there near every cluster. So, on a pilot basis, we will start here’.
Upadhyay stated that they would launch the mobile bus school as a trial programme and evaluate the outcome. To determine the number of such kids, a feasibility survey will be carried out throughout New Delhi and Lutyens’ neighbourhoods prior to implementation.
‘A bus will be redesigned into a classroom with chalkboard, desks, lights, fans etc… As our area is very small, we are planning to start the initiative for dropouts, the homeless, street children who are most often seen begging at traffic signals or seen playing below the flyover. The mobile school can also be very useful to teach children of labourers at construction sites’, said the BJP leader Upadhyay.
Upadhyay will also send a letter to the NDMC’s education department in this respect, asking them to investigate the notion and come up with a strategy.
NDMC officials said that the council is currently discussing the proposal and intends to contact the Gujarat education department for suggestions.
Upadhyay stated that they would utilise the bus as a day school for kids and may even use it as a night school to give labourers and construction workers access to education.
The solar-powered ‘school on wheels’ buses in Gujarat, which were introduced in 2018, have a green board, writing desks, PVC flooring, fans, a drinking water facility, and a TV.
Post Your Comments