EDMC school pilot project for boosting education, revenues

New Delhi, Sept 25: Cash-strapped East Delhi Municipal Corporation is planning to lease out its schools to a few private coaching institutes, with a dual aim of boosting access to education for poor children and augmenting its revenues.

"This project would be based on a public-private- partnership model where we have earmarked about 200 schools spread over 10 Assembly constituencies in the area. "10 centres, one from each constituency would be tried on a pilot-basis first and then we would expand it," East Delhi Mayor Satya Sharma said.

About 2.5 lakh students go to 398 school under the EDMC, she said, under this project "morning (regular) schools would be covered". "The idea is to utilise the classroom lying closed after morning timings, so that in the evening the same could be used to impart education to other children, among other students.

"51 per cent of the students admitted would be from below poverty line (BPL) section of the society who would get free education. "Our policy aims to use the PPP model to provide education to these underprivileged children and at the same time boost our revenues as we are reeling under a financial loss," Chairman of Standing Committee of EDMC Jitender Chaudhary said.

The Mayor said the proposal has been approved by the standing committee and it is slated to be tabled in EDMC House meeting on Monday.

"After the House okays it, we would begin work on it and it would take at least one month before we marshall all our resources together and get staff and teachers on board," she said.

Chaudhary said the civic body is also seeking to "hire retired teachers to serve in such schools. The space would be used by private coaching institutes but we would carry the ultimate authority. They would be run as schools and not typical coaching centres."

"We are promoting education and so poor children would not be charged any fee, but bags and uniform they would not be free," Sharma said.

PTI