Why many students walk 40 mins to reach BMC schools

In the second of a three-part series on the reasons and consequence of BMC schools shutting down in the last 10 years, HT spotlights how the closures have thrown lives of many families off balance, the long walks young children have to take to the new faraway schools and the financial burden on parents who are turning to private schools in distress

MUMBAI: It is not uncommon to find a group of schoolkids, chaperoned by their parents, waiting to cross the railway tracks between Mankhurd and Govandi at 6:45 am on school days. Clutching their school bags, they watch the trains go by for at least 15 minutes before they can walk across the tracks and the long stretch of the busy Eastern Express Highway to reach the Maharashtra Nagar BMC school.

It is not uncommon to find a group of schoolkids, chaperoned by their parents, waiting to cross the railway tracks between Mankhurd and Govandi at 6:45 am on school days. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Raju Shinde)

This, however, was not their routine till 2021 when the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) decided to demolish the “dilapidated” school in Mankhurd Gaon, which had a strength of 400 students who were taught in Marathi and Urdu mediums.

“The BMC’s decision has greatly affected students’ lives. They now have to walk for 20 to 25 minutes across the tracks and a highway to reach school,” said Santosh Surve, founder of Jan Jagruti Manch, an organisation that works to bring out-of-school students back to school.

In the academic year of 2025-26, BMC has emptied out five school buildings after they were declared unsafe, throwing children of many neighbourhoods into uncertainty as they do not know when a structurally safe building will be made available for them.

This routine, said Arvind Vaidya, education activist, is against a crucial rule under the Right to Education (RTE) Act. “The Act mandates a neighbourhood school within a walking distance of 1 kilometer for primary students and 3 kilometers for upper primary students. Why are students then made to walk a long way? BMC must think about this and act accordingly,” said Vaidya.

The long walk

The business of renegotiating travel to school under similar circumstances has thrown the routine of Mohammed Karim’s family off kilter. Karim and his son Shoieb, 9, walk 40 minutes every day from Shahu Nagar, Dharavi, to Kapad Bazar School in Mahim every day. Until a few months ago, the Class 2 student studied in New Mahim English School, a 20-minute walk from home. But BMC emptied out the school declaring the structure dilapidated, and shifted 140 students to Kapad Bazar and 150 students in Sion BMC schools, right in the middle of the academic year in September.

Karim, a civil construction worker, was compelled to rearrange his daily schedule to factor in the additional time taken to reach his son to the new school. “We will not keep him in this school next year because we cannot walk for 40 minutes each way every day,” he said.

More severely impacted is Farheen Bano, whose two children aged 5 and 8 go to Kapad Bazar after the previous school was shut down. Farheen spends hours waiting near the school as her children’s classes give over in different hours. “My daughter finishes school at 4 pm and my son at 6 pm. I cannot walk 45 minutes back and forth twice, so I just wait near the school for two hours,” said Farheen.

Beyond such adjustments, parents are also coming to grips with the condition of the new premises. The Kapad Bazar school is housed on the first two floors of an SRA building while the remaining 11 floors house rehabilitated slum dwellers. Rizwan Shaikh, whose daughter goes to the school, lamented the absence of a playground. “Our children are stuck inside all day because there are many restrictions. For instance, group activities are not allowed between 3pm to 5pm, and no play time because residents live in the same compound. Sometimes there are arguments outside the building when parents come to pick children after school hours,” said Shaikh. “The old school had a playground. We want our old school back.”

‘Dilapidated’ school

The dispute over whether the school in Mahim was indeed “unsafe” intensified since its closure, with parents and activists arguing that the civic body’s assessment was faulty.

Pranali Raut, an activist, who is campaigning to save the school, said an independent auditor had concluded the building was repairable. Said Raut: “If an independent auditor says the structure can be repaired, why is BMC insisting it falls under C1 (dangerous) category? Why do they want to demolish it?” She expressed her views in a letter to BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani on December 2, in which she underscored that “this is not the first time such a situation has unfolded”.

Not a first

In 2019, BMC closed down and consequently demolished the Mori Road School, in Mahim. A new building was promised but no progress has been made in the last six years. In 2021, BMC demolished the building in Mankhurd gaon where Marathi and Urdu medium schools operated. Santosh Surve, a former student of the school and an activist, said there is no BMC school in ward 144, which covers the old Mankhurd village. “There is also no school in the neighbouring wards 135 and 142 where more than 1.5 lakh people reside,” he said.

With no government schools nearby, parents are compelled to send their children to private schools that charge anywhere between ₹25,000 and ₹35,000 annually. Raut said for parents who depend on local BMC schools, every extra kilometre makes a difference. “Many say that unless the corporation speeds up construction and provides guaranteed timelines, Mumbai’s students will have to continue to walk long distances to reach schools that once stood in their own neighbourhoods,” she said.

Responding to the concerns, deputy municipal commissioner Prachi Jambhekar said the New Mahim Road School has undergone three structural audits. “We have sent the reports to the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). We cannot allow students to sit there if TAC gives a negative report,” she said. On the delay in the Mori Road school construction, she said: “We have identified the lowest bidder. Work will start very soon.”

Tomorrow: BMC schools operating inside residential buildings, flouting norms under the RTE Act.