Mumbai: Railway relocations push Dharavi students out of Sion schools, dropout fears grow

As Mumbairsquos rapidly changing skyline becomes routine for residents schools along the railway tracks in Sion are beginning to feel the unintended fallout of infrastructureled relocations Several schools in the area are witnessing a drop in attendance following the shifting of some Dharavi residentsJagdish Indalkar principal of Lion MP Bhuta School in Sionrsquos Jain Colony said the trend became noticeable a few months ago ldquoSince houses along the railway tracks adjoining Dharavi were vacated we have seen a decline in student attendance particularly in the Gujaratimedium sectionrdquo Indalkar told middayAccording to him the numbers began to fall after Diwali However schools must wait several months before officially categorising students as dropouts ldquoWe believe relocation has made daily commuting difficult for parents In some cases families may have anticipated redevelopment and moved back to their native villages in Gujarat We have no way of tracking what has happened to these studentsrdquo he saidThe school has also been unable to reach many parents For aided and government schools declining enrolment has wider implications As student numbers drop teacher strength is also reduced since staffing is allocated based on enrolmentMidacademic shiftSome families living on railway land have been relocated to a housing near Vidyavihar Earlier students from these areas would cross a foot overbridge near Sion to attend nearby schools including Guru Nanak National High School which is located close to the tracks Now the commute takes over 30 minutesldquoWe have students travelling from Vidyavihar daily Since the move happened midacademic year parents are ensuring their children attend classes But next year many may seek schools closer to homerdquo said principal Getziyal JohnsonA former Dharavi resident who moved to Vidyavihar two months ago said his family continues to send their twin 12yearold daughters to a school in Sion ldquoIt takes us at least 30 minutes one way Schools closer to Vidyavihar charge much higher fees In Sion we pay about Rs 10000 a year Nearby schools charge Rs 30000 to Rs 40000rdquo he saidHe added that the lack of a direct bus route has made commuting harder ldquoOur daughters say they can travel alone but as parents we worryrdquo he said Another relocated resident who drops her senior kindergarten daughter and Std VIII son to Sionbased schools said they were still undecided about changing schools ldquoThe commute takes about 30 minutes We are managing for now but we do not want to exhaust the childrenrdquo she saidYounger students at riskWhile older students are adjusting to longer travel parents of primary school children are more hesitant Aparna Yadav head of the primary section at DS School in Sion said evening travel poses challenges ldquoClasses for Std I and II end at 5 pm Taking young children back by train during peak hours is risky Road travel going to Sion is also difficult for Vidyavihar or Kurla residents Infrastructure changes have unintentionally left schools in a difficult positionrdquo she said The school has recorded one dropout so far this year but the parents could not be contactedBeyond relocationSome educationists believe the decline cannot be attributed solely to infrastructure changes ldquoIrregular attendance due to commuting issues is one factor but not the only one Many Dharavi residents are yet to accept relocation plans Dropouts may also be driven by changing parental preferences and a shift towards Englishmedium schoolsrdquo said Baburao Mane former MLA and associate of the Mahatma Phule Education Trust in DharaviDemolition not DRPOfficials from Navbharat Mega Developers Private Limited the special purpose vehicle for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project said no demolition is currently underway in Dharavi ldquoNo demolition has been carried out by us or our agencies The only construction in progress is staff quarters for the Railways at Matunga Notices to vacate have been issued only to a limited number of residents for infrastructure work and around 250 families from Shatabdi Nagar have been provided transit accommodation in a nearby MHADA buildingrdquo a spokesperson saidOfficials from the Central Railway informed that the relocation is being done as part of the proposed 5th amp 6th line project between CSMTCLA under the MUTP II B project on the west side of the track from Sion to Dadar essential for increasing capacity between CSMT and Kurla For this project rehabilitation and resettlement is being done by MMRDA 711 projectaffected persons were identified alternate tenements have been given to all and they are being shifted to the identified locations in the HDIL project Kohinoor Kurla WestOut of these 711 tenements tenants of 489 tenements have already been relocated and tenements demolished Work is in progress across locations Further details are available with MMRDA as the work of relocation is being carried out by MMRDA However schools and colleges are available in the new locality which is near the Vidyavihar station Due to the model code of conduct MMRDA did not respond to queries before publicationWhat next for studentsBMC education official said systems exist to accommodate displaced students ldquoIf students from Std I to IV are relocated due to infrastructure projects the education department ensures they are accommodated in nearby municipal or aided schools For higher classes education inspectors oversee the process So far no such proposal has been brought to usrdquo she said