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Crumbling Classrooms and Overworked Teachers: The Struggle of Delhi's Urdu Schools
2 Aug
Summary
- Urdu schools in Old Delhi have just 2 teachers for 150 students
- Classrooms are dilapidated, with no basic facilities like separate toilets
- Lack of qualified Urdu instructors, leading to exam challenges
In August 2025, the state of Urdu-medium schools in Old Delhi's Chandni Chowk area paints a bleak picture. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi-run school in Bulbul Khana is barely functioning, with just two overworked teachers managing the entire institution. The walls are chipping, the lanes are muddy, and the iron gates adorned with cheerful children's paintings belie the harsh reality within.
Across the Bazar Sita Ram area, the situation is no better. One Urdu school has 150 students from nursery to Class V, but only two teachers to handle them. One is bogged down by paperwork, while the other juggles classes, with an unpaid volunteer as the only additional help. The students are crammed into two seepage-ridden classrooms, with no separate toilet facilities for the teachers.
The lack of qualified Urdu instructors is a major concern. Despite exams being conducted in Urdu, worksheets often arrive in Hindi, forcing the teachers to translate them on their own. "Unlike English, parents don't put any effort into teaching their children Urdu, so the onus is on us," laments one teacher.
The woes extend to other Urdu schools in the area. The co-ed school in Kucha Pundit, built in 1919, is now surrounded by three-storey buildings and is in a state of disrepair, with the foundation continuously receding. "We never know when the structure will collapse," says the local MCD councillor.
The situation is a far cry from the past, when the area boasted 11 Urdu schools. Now, there are just three, and the future of Urdu education in Old Delhi hangs in the balance.
