New Delhi: Fifteen-year-old Rohit (name changed) says they have only two-and-a-half hours of classes every day in his school. His friend adds that this includes the lunch break and each class is only 15-minutes long.

“Most days, teachers don’t come in. Even on days they are present, they are busy chatting on their mobiles.”

The chat was disturbed when school authorities realised that the students were talking to reporters. They were then chased away.

This is the story of the Government Senior Secondary School, Karawal Nagar — the only high school in the area that caters to over 5,000 students of the locality.

The school runs in four shifts — two each for girls and boys. Even the high school students have classes for less than three hours. “We come to the school only for the midday meal,” says a student.

Though a building has been commissioned for another wing, it still remains under-construction — a sharp contrast from what the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal claims in the advertisements where he says, “Now, government schools have swimming pools for students.”

News18 spoke to over 20 students and each of them complained that if they depend on the school, they would never be able to pass the Board exam. But this is not the story of one school. As per an affidavit submitted by the Delhi government in High Court, the total sanctioned strength for teachers is 59,796 and there is a vacancy for 27,142 permanent teachers. There are about 17,000 temporary teachers in the system but their competence remains a suspect. And over 9,000 teaching positions are completely vacant.

The AAP government, which has often promised to make Delhi the model state for health and education, blames this on the legacy they have inherited from the previous government. Speaking to News18, Advisor on Education to the Deputy Chief Minister, Atishi Marleena says, “It is not that there are no teachers or principals. Where ever there are no principals, there are others who are acting as the head of the schools. We wanted to regularise the temporary teachers but that is being delayed due to litigations. Our proposals are yet to get L-G’s approval.”

But education activist Ashok Agarwal who has taken up the matter in High Court questions the claims of the AAP government, asking how the system can work when there is over 50% vacancy of permanent teachers.

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