The Indian Express reported today that a primary school in New Delhi is using religion as the basis of dividing students into classes. According to teachers employed by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, Hindu students are being sent to different sections than Muslim students at the North MCD Boys' School, Wazirabad village, Gali Number 9.
After analyzing the attendance record, The Indian Express found that classes had indeed been divided on the basis of religion. For instance, Class IA has 36 Hindus while IB has 36 Muslims. Further, Class IIA has 47 Hindus and IIC has 40 Muslims.
For Classes III and IV, sections A and C have entirely Hindu and Muslim students respectively. And for Class 5, sections A, B and D are divided on the entirely on basis of religion, while section C has 39 Muslims and two Hindus.
When asked about the division, C B Singh Sehrawat, who is in charge of the school, told the newspaper the segregation was made to maintain peace. "Some children are vegetarian, so there may be differences, and so on. We need to look after the interests of all teachers and students," he said.
North Municipal Corporation of Delhi is reportedly looking into matter and parents were not made aware of the segregation. One mother called it "disturbing." The Indian Express quoted a student as saying, "There are no Hindu boys in my class. We were together until a few months back. A good friend of mine is no longer in the same classroom."
Read the full story at The Indian Express.