Following a visit by Delhi BJP leaders to an MCD school in Kapashera on Tuesday, the leaders have lamented severe neglect and poor conditions in these schools. The Delhi BJP leader has alleged that hundreds of students are forced to sit on jute mats and that three classes are conducted in a single hall, indicating severe lack of basic amenities.

“Delhi keeps hearing from Minister Atishi and MP Manish Sisodia that they have brought schools to world-class standards. It is disheartening to see the conditions in this MCD school in Kapashera today,” said Delhi BJP leader Virendra Sachdeva.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) immediately retaliated, accusing the BJP of putting the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in financial trouble during its 15-year rule. “The BJP is a party corrupt to the core and has completely bankrupted the MCD during its 15-year rule,” the AAP claimed, the Indian Express reported.

During their visit, BJP representatives found alarming conditions in the school. For example, the water taps were dry or broken, meaning that students had no access to drinking water. They also reported that the toilet facilities were poor and there were no separate toilets for the approximately 550 students.

Although the school attracts 1,250 students, it has had no headmaster since 2022 and is severely understaffed. Seven teachers are on BLO duty and six are on long-term leave. In addition, the BJP criticised the lack of proper blackboards in classrooms.

Sachdeva questioned the commitment of currently jailed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the bail-bound Sisodia and asked whether they would consider sending their children to such schools. He announced plans to file a complaint with the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) demanding immediate action on the conditions faced by the students.

In response, the AAP condemned the BJP for closing over 60,000 schools across the country in the last two years, saying, “The situation is so bad that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to resort to having photographs taken in a mock school. Shockingly, there are 1,606 single-teacher schools in Gujarat… We are deeply grateful to the people of Delhi for entrusting us with the responsibility of improving MCD schools and we will deliver.”