08 August,2025 07:09 AM IST | Mumbai | Aditi Alurkar
With no FOB, students attempt to cross the busy road after school. Pics/Aditi Alurkar
Situated front and centre on the bustling Mankhurd-Ghatkopar Link Road, Shivajinagar BMC School Group No. 1 is bursting at the seams. As of today, the school building accommodates students from seven different schools, a Marathi-medium, Hindi-medium, three Urdu-medium schools, a school for special children, and an English-medium CBSE school, according to school officials.
A few classrooms are also reserved for a night school and the Election Commission.
Originally, the premises housed only Marathi, Hindi, PwD (Persons with Disabilities), and Urdu-medium students. However, the BMC-run MPS CBSE school was asked to temporarily operate from the building until its own premises were ready, a plan that's still pending over a year later. This monsoon, after a third Urdu-medium school's building was declared unfit, some of its classes were also shifted to the already crowded Shivajinagar school.
According to school and government authorities, the building has 66 rooms, of which 50 to 52 are usable as classrooms. The remaining rooms are reserved for staff and administrative purposes. "The school functions in both morning and afternoon shifts. With each classroom accommodating about 40 students, and rooms being reused in the second shift, the building can serve around 4000 students. Currently, we have nearly 3800 students enrolled," a BMC official told mid-day.
But the overload comes at a cost. Due to varying student strengths, teachers often share classrooms, teach in corridors, and even convert computer labs into regular classrooms. "We do our best to give children proper education, but conducting cultural activities like dramatics becomes difficult in such limited space," said a senior school official. At present, the school hall is occupied by Election Commission officers, and mid-day has learned that even BMC health workers lack rooms to conduct student health check-ups.
The pressure peaks around 12.30 pm, when morning students leave and afternoon students arrive. "The school gate opens directly onto the highway, where traffic never slows down. With students crowding the gate at that time, we fear an accident is just waiting to happen," said a concerned parent. School authorities highlighted that many students must cross the highway to reach the school, and there is no foot overbridge in sight. "Some vehicles drive the wrong way, and hardly anyone obeys the traffic signals," said a local Govandi resident.
50 to 52
No. of usable classrooms in the building
66
Total No. of rooms in the entire building
