Delhi government has decided to appoint 9,000 teachers and set up 12 new schools across the city to enhance educational facilities for effective implementation of the Right to Education Act.
The government has also identified 10 more sites for setting up of new schools besides deciding to enhance existing infrastructure in over 50 schools.
Additional education director Sunita Shukla said that to augment educational infrastructure the department has constructed 529 new rooms in existing schools in 2010-11 for proper implementation of the RTE Act. The Act makes it mandatory for government to provide free education till class VIII.
"We have decided to set up 12 new schools and sites for another 10 schools have been identified," she told reporters here.
The government has already enhanced infrastucture in 127 schools as part of a project called Roopantar.
"At present, 14 lakh students are studying in Delhi government schools and government has decided to further enhance the infrastructure to ensure effective implementation of RTE Act," Shukla said.
On appointment of teachers, she said the cabinet has approved the proposal for creation of the new posts and process of appointment will commence soon. Currently, around 6,000 posts of teachers are lying vacant in Delhi government schools.
But against the vacancies, government had appointed around 3,000 teachers on contractual basis.
To expand the infrastructure to meet the growing needs, an outlay of Rs270 crore was proposed for the construction of new school buildings in 2011-12. A total of Rs1,247 crore was earmarked for education in the budget.
Delhi government has also decided to provide enhanced financial allocation to all aided schools to help them expand infrastructure and implement provisions of the Right to Education Act.
In a bid to set up more schools, the government had earlier this month approved a policy for allotment of Nazul land by Delhi Development Authority to private sector for setting up new educational institutions.
The new policy will do away with the "obstacles" and facilitate allotment of land by DDA to the government as well as private sector for setting up more schools.
Every year, private schools struggle to meet the admission demand of thousands of children. The policy will now be forwarded to the Union ministry of Urban Development and the Ministry of HRD for approval.
