BMC to open special study rooms at its schools

The civic body has decided to open special study rooms at its schools that will be available for students of any background right through the day.

The facility should be a boon to children who find it difficult to focus on their studies mainly due to a lack of space.

There will be three rooms on the ground floor of the school set aside for private study. One of them will be for girls only. The study rooms will be open in the morning between 6.30am and 10am and in the evening between 2pm and 10pm.

The facility, to be launched within a month, will be available at 450 schools that have been found to have sufficient space and will be free of cost.

The proposal was made last year by Vinod Shelar, chairman of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's education committee. The decision was taken last week.

"In a city like Mumbai where there is a space crunch, students find it difficult to concentrate on their studies. This is the case particularly with students from poor backgrounds," said Shelar. "The study rooms will now give these students space and a better atmosphere to study together."

Nitin Wadhwani of Citizens Action for Child Rights (CACR) welcomed the initiative, saying, "This is a good step, especially in the context of the monsoon. The BMC must pay attention to proper security for the kids using the facility."

CACR is a non-profit organisation focusing on improving the quality of education in municipal schools in the city.

According to an official, the details for proper operation of the facility and safety will be worked out and implemented in the next couple of weeks.