Structural audits have found 14 Delhi government school buildings requiring demolition, with the government approving partial or complete razing of seven. The Directorate of Education (DoE) is assessing a total of 108 schools as part of the exercise.  

The exercise is part of a drive launched by the Delhi government to assess the condition of government school infrastructure after Chief Minister Rekha Gupta last year directed officials to improve the overall state of government schools. The DoE undertook a comprehensive digital profiling of existing school buildings, including third-party structural audits, to identify buildings requiring demolition and redevelopment. 

Officials said most of the identified school buildings are around 40 years old and in a dilapidated condition. Some schools are functioning from tin sheds or partially constructed buildings. 

“The exercise includes the assessment of the structural stability and overall condition of each building, detailed profiling of fixtures and furniture, and documentation of electrical, plumbing, fire safety and other essential installations. The profiling also evaluates the accessibility features of school premises in accordance with universal accessibility standards to ensure an inclusive learning environment for all students, including children with disabilities,” a DoE official said. 

Of the 108 schools, third-party audit reports have been submitted for 54. According to these reports, buildings in 14 schools require demolition. “Out of the 14 schools, the government has approved the demolition of either full or some blocks of seven schools over the last 45 days. Approvals for the remaining seven schools are under process and are likely to be completed in the coming weeks,” the official added.   

The seven schools are located in Chilla village, Jasola village, Karala, Baprola, Matiala, Neb Sarai and Shivaji Park. 

According to the official, audit reports for the remaining 54 schools are expected shortly, after which further action will be taken. 

“After demolition, the government plans to construct permanent Ground+4, earthquake-resistant school buildings with the aim of completing the work within a year,” said the official. During the construction period, students will be accommodated in other blocks of the same school or shifted to nearby schools. 

The DoE also plans to maximise classroom capacity through the redevelopment of these school sites. The official said proposals have been initiated to construct Ground+4 permanent school buildings on 27 vacant land parcels under the department. The projects are expected to increase classroom capacity, reduce overcrowding and improve the student-classroom ratio. 

New Delhi:

With several government teachers enlisted by the Election Commission as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) for the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, school authorities have been pushed into reworking timetables to tackle the staff shortage. 

In several schools, a single teacher is being assigned to manage two classes. On other occasions, students are being sent to the library or sports ground in the absence of teachers in classrooms. 

Principals who are struggling to make these arrangements have expressed concerns over the disruption of regular classes, especially ahead of the mid-term exams in September. 

Teachers who have been appointed as BLOs are also finding themselves stretched trying to manage both school and SIR duties, with work pouring into night hours. 

Earlier in the week, the Government Schools Teachers’ Association (GSTA) flagged the issue of academic loss in a notice to Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood. In his letter, Ajay Veer Yadav, GSTA general secretary, said, “A substantial number of trained teachers have been deployed as BLOs and BLO supervisors for the SIR exercise. Consequently, the absence of thousands of teachers from schools is likely to adversely impact the education of lakhs of students. Such academic loss cannot be adequately compensated at a later stage.”

Around 13,000 BLOs have been deployed on ground, which include government school teachers, anganwadi workers and ASHA workers. According to the official orders deploying them on BLO duty, they will be required “full-time until October or the completion of the SIR process, whichever is earlier”. The notices also asked respective school heads or managers to make arrangements to relieve them of their duties for the said period.  

‘Impacting studies’
However, for a school principal who has had to spare a majority of his senior teachers for BLO duty, putting in place an alternative arrangement hasn’t been easy. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the principal said, “Even some class teachers have been assigned BLO duty. So, who will teach then? Some teachers have been given two registers, and they have to take care of multiple classes.” 

But this comes with challenges too, the principal said. “A teacher might have another class. So, we have to merge some classes or send some students to the playground. But this will impact their studies and it will be difficult to complete the syllabus before the mid-term examinations in September.” 

Another school principal said, “We can’t leave the students alone. So during free periods, they are being engaged in the library or with sports. We have to alter timetables because the teachers will be away for a much longer time than they usually are for election or other duties.” 

‘Double the work’

A senior government school teacher, who has been engaged in BLO duty, said, “In my school, the principal has assigned my school duties to another teacher for the time being. But unfortunately, substitute teachers do not put in the same amount of effort because it is additional work for them, too.”

However, not all schools can afford to spare teachers exclusively for SIR duty. The problem was starker in schools from where more teachers have been deployed for BLO work. A teacher, who along with one more colleague from the school has been assigned SIR duty, said his principal has relieved him of his school duties completely. But in schools from where more teachers have been deployed as BLOs, they are trying to manage both the duties. 

Another teacher, who has been going to school in the morning and then heading out on SIR duty said, “There is pressure from both sides. I am going to school and then stepping out to go for door-to-door BLO work. There are no fixed hours as such, and we are working all day, and into the night.” 

Similarly, substitutes are taking care of the children at anganwadi centres. “I am fulfilling both my duties at the same time, though I’m managing some of it on my phone. My work starts early in the morning and continues till late at night,” said an anganwadi worker. 

With schools across Telangana set to reopen from Monday (June 15) for the 2026-27 academic year, Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) officials were directed to ensure that sufficient public transportation buses are available in all routes so that students do not have issues in commuting to schools.

The corporation’s Managing Director Y. Nagi Reddy on Sunday instructed officials of all regions, Depot Managers to focus on regularising bus services according to timings of schools, especially for students who commute from rural areas. All previously operated bus routes have to be restored.

The Managing Director said that as there are 227 working days in the academic year, the transport services were scheduled accordingly. Mr. Reddy said that services have to be operated strictly according to schedule so that students are not made to wait for a long time. If need be, additional trips have to be made.

Online education is one of the biggest finds of the last decade, Kadhambari S. Viswanathan, assistant vice-president, Vellore Institute of Technology, said on Friday (February 13, 2026) at The Hindu Tech Summit 2026.

She was speaking at a session, titled ‘From Campus to Corporation: Building Industry-Ready Talent for an AI First World’, in conversation with L.V. Navaneeth, Chief Executive Officer, The Hindu Group, at the event hosted by The Hindu, presented by VIT, and co-presented Sify Technologies.

“There is a lot of discussion on how online education will change and if it will entirely replace physical classroom-based education. But both can co-exist and supplement and complement each other,” she said.

Talking about digital literacy and digital wellbeing, Ms. Viswanathan underscored the need for teaching the younger generation how to use technology with caution. “They should be masters of technology and not the other way around. There is not much literacy and awareness about digital wellbeing among the people,” she added. 

There is evidence-based research on how screen time affects the childhood and the mental wellbeing of teenagers, she said.

Asked about how modern technology transforms the daily life and learning experience of students, Ms. Viswanathan said teaching was conventional earlier. But it is no longer faculty-led; it is rapidly becoming a student-led experience. “Faculty will facilitate the learning process but will not be [entirely in] control of the learning process. It is changing because of information overload available online. But, of course, human intervention is always needed,” she added. 

Ms. Viswanathan said the way the skillsets are going to progress will be very different. “There is definitely a skillset mismatch, and it is due to the lack of practical exposure during the course of study. This can be solved only when there is proper communication between the industry and the academia,” she added. 

She said that one of the biggest challenges of generative AI is how it affects the communication skills of the people.