Delhi Edu Minister orders urgent action on waterlogging in schools

Taking note of waterlogging in several government schools across Delhi, Education Minister Ashish Sood has directed immediate measures to resolve the problem in affected areas including Nithari, Kirari, Molarband and Madanpur Khadar.

Calling the situation a result of “negligence by previous governments,” Sood criticised the deteriorated condition of school campuses during monsoon, warning children’s safety was at serious risk. He instructed officials to carry out mosquito-control spraying, deploy additional water pumps and launch cleanliness drives in all affected schools.

The minister’s action follows recent reports of flooding in six schools in Nithari and others in Kirari. The Education Department has been instructed to coordinate with the civic agencies concerned to tackle the problem.

“In many cases, the ground level of schools is lower than the surrounding area, causing rainwater to flood both inside and outside school buildings. Sadly, no permanent drainage solution has been provided,” Sood noted, calling the conditions “dangerous” and highly disruptive to education.

He said the waterlogging problem in Nithari schools has persisted for over a decade, citing information from the Directorate of Education. “Despite repeated communication by the Education Department to the PWD and other departments, no action was taken. The condition of these schools worsened because the previous government did not act,” Sood said.

He pointed out many school buildings were constructed without adherence to building norms. “Basic facilities were ignored and as surrounding land levels rose, no drainage planning was done. As a result, even light rainfall now leads to flooded campuses, leaving young children to suffer.”

Referring to a letter from Kirari MLA Anil Jha, Sood said, “Even an Aam Aadmi Party MLA has raised concerns about schools in his constituency. This exposes the AAP’s own failure. It is evident they did little to improve school infrastructure during their tenure.”

He also took aim at the AAP’s claim of spearheading an “education revolution”, stating, “In the last 10 years, AAP failed to maintain Delhi’s schools. The so-called education model has left the system in disarray. The current government is making multi-level efforts to bring education back on track.”

Regarding the schools in Nithari, Sood said they were originally built under a previous government and later reconstructed during the tenure of AAP MLA Rituraj.