Mumbai: Kids bear the brunt of BMC school closures as families struggle with long commutes

The closure of numerous civic schools across the city has been more than just an inconvenience Dharavi resident Reshma Shaikh would send her two children mdash an 11yearold son and a 6yearold daughter mdash to the New Mahim School which was a 15minute walk from her house ldquoMy childrenrsquos admission was directly transferred to the Kapad Bazaar School earlier this year after the school was declared dangerous Now it is a 3045 minute walk one way to the new schoolrdquo said ReshmaMissing outOwing to the long distance and her chores at home Reshma claims that she typically sends her children to school only twice or thrice a week ldquoNow I am in the sixth month of my third pregnancy My health does not allow me to walk as much and I donrsquot think I can manage to send my children to school anymore We are going to our native village for 15 days after returning I might get them out of schoolrdquo she told middayNew Mahim School which has been declared a dangerous structure right Sion Mumbai Public School PICSBY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTNot far away at Matungarsquos Labour Camp Sonal Dabhade has been worried about the education of her three children mdash an 8yearold son an 11yearold daughter and 12yearold son mdash who were all enrolled in BMCrun Marathi schoolsSchoolhoppingHer eldest began his school journey at a civicrun Marathi school at Matungarsquos Labour Camp ldquoThe school was very shortstaffed and teachers would almost never show up for class A single teacher would have to teach three classes and in fact it was a few officials from the school who suggested that the New Mahim Marathi School was a better alternativerdquo said SonalAfter the 12yearold completed his Std V exams he was shifted to New Mahim Marathi School along with his siblings They spent one year studying at New Mahim until Sonal was told that this school was to shut down too for repairs Once again the older children were moved to a Sionbased civic school which is nearly 2 km away from Sonalrsquos residenceldquoMy youngest son who was in Std II was initially assigned to the Mahim Police Colony School However that school appeared to be rundown and managing the commute was difficult so I had to make my youngest one switch schools again He now studies at the Sion school toordquo Sonal said This is how the three younglings ended up changing three schools within three yearsImpossible without helpWorking as a housemaid Sonal finds it difficult after a day of chores to walk all the way to get her children But between daily wage and education neither can be compromised However to her aid comes her neighbour Razia Shaikh who takes turns with picking and dropping off childrenRazia sent her daughter to the Mori Road semiEnglish medium school until 2020 However after being informed that the school was being demolished her daughter who was in Std IV was moved to New Mahim Marathi School After four years of education there New Mahim was demolished too and now she studies at the Sionbased civic schoolldquoWe cannot use buses as they are never on time and we have household responsibilities to manage too Had I known that this would be the fate of the school I would have enrolled my daughter elsewhere to begin withrdquo Razia saidOfficial SpeakldquoAdministrative officers are looking into the matter Our Marathimedium schools in Dharavi and neighbouring areas can accommodate these students even midyear We are collecting data on students who have been attending school intermittently and I am looking forward to proposals of secondary students who need a bus arranged so we can work on the samerdquo said Education Officer Sujata KhareExpert SpeakldquoStudents who are suffering are already underprivileged Giving them hope and taking it away can make them feel more insecure while damaging their relationship with education itself In future when they are actually attending a stable school they may end up being more careless because of their past experiencerdquo said Dr Naazneen Ladak a consulting psychiatrist