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NDMC's Education Dept. flayed for non-performance

By Sandeep Joshi

NEW DELHI JUNE 17. The educational establishment of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is in doldrums. Be it the standard of education, enrollment of students, attainment of literacy levels, welfare schemes for children or utilisation of funds -- the entire scenario is in bad shape.

The NDMC's latest annual audit report points out grave anomalies in various spheres of the functioning of the civic body's Education Department under whose direct control are a total of 98 schools -- five senior secondary, 10 secondary, 10 middle, 51 primary and 22 nursery schools.

The report underlines the objectives of the Education Department as -- to achieve cent per cent universalisation of elementary education in age group of six years to 11 years and to reduce drop outs; attainment of literacy and numeracy at elementary level; to bring qualitative improvement in standard of education; to create consciousness about environment and its allied problems; and to provide vocational education at 10+2 stage to enhance self-employment.

But the report indicts the Department stating that despite constant decline in enrollment of fresh students over the years, the Department neither conducted any survey of the target group to find out the reasons for the same nor took any remedial measure to check the trend. Moreover, though the total number of students declined from 43,674 during 1994-95 to 38,006 during 1999-2000, the number of schools increased from 95 to 100 during the same period.

Similarly, the Department could only utilise funds amounting to Rs.11.58 lakhs only as against the proposed expenditure of Rs.32.10 lakhs till November 2001 under the Primary Education Enhancement Project (PEEP) funded by the UNICEF thereby not completely achieving the objectives of the project.

The report observed that ''the project which was proposed to be implemented by December 2000 had not been fully established till November 2001. A sum of Rs.2.20 lakhs was spent on salary of computer clerk-cum-operators out of total expenditure of Rs.4.10 lakhs despite the fact that no computer was supplied by UNICEF so far.''

``Thus, due to lack of proper planning and implementation, the Department has till date not been able to fully utilise the grant being given by UNICEF for promotion of primary education which is one of the obligatory functions of the NDMC,'' the audit report observed.

Similarly, the performance of schools in the Board Examination was also not satisfactory. The class X from 1996-97 to 1999-2000 remained in the range of 38.32 per cent to 45.04 per cent which cannot be said to be a "satisfactory position''. However, the results achieved in respect of class XII students remained between 64.5 per cent to 67.17 per cent during the same period. Ironically, there was an exception in the NP Senior Secondary School No. 2 situated at Mandir Marg as its class XII result remained at poor 26.2 per cent.

The audit report further states that test checks in respect of 43 school revealed that mid-day meal supplies worth Rs.20.95 lakhs were not received by these schools during 1994-94, 1995- 96, 1999-2000 and 2000-2001. There were also serious anomalies in maintaining of the record as "some of the schools show that the number of days for which supplies were received by them was more than that supplied by the Mid-day Meal centre''.

Moreover, free supply of text books, uniform cloth, wool and other items under various welfare schemes was either not made or was made at the close of the academic sessions or even after the winter season was over. The Council also suffered loss of Rs.62.36 lakhs on providing transport facilities to the staff and students of two schools during 1995 to 2001.

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