Delhi’s 78-year-old blind school faces closure, putting 115 visually impaired students’ futures at risk.
Disputes over land papers, recognition, and safety concerns have triggered the shutdown notice.
Despite repeated appeals, the institute struggles to secure recognition and address resident safety issues.
An eerie silence hangs heavy in the air at the Institution for the Blind. Its students, now away on holidays, may never return to their classrooms. Their mid-term exams begin on October 4, 2025 — the very day the school faces closure. Their future? Suspended in uncertainty.
When the institute officials informed students and faculty of a possible closure, the dread of having nowhere to belong took over. Upon hearing the news, a student said, “Humare paas kahin jane ko nahi hai sir” (We have nowhere to go, sir).
The institute houses 115 visually impaired students, along with 10 faculty members, five of whom are also blind. The students mostly come from Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh, and are from economically weaker sections.
Founded in Lahore in 1939, the institute claims it received no certificate after relocating to Delhi post-Partition. They say Mahatma Gandhi verbally instructed the land allotment.
“We have been running this school for the last 78 years. The Delhi School Education Act does not specify that we need papers for land. We have written letters to all authorities in Delhi, including Land and Building, NDMC, DDA, and MCD, stating that this land has been under our possession for running the school for the last 78 years, and there is no claimant of this land,” says Jai Prakash Sharma, administrative secretary of the institute.
Recognition and Compliance Issues
The notice, issued by the Deputy Director (Education) Zone 26 on September 20, ordered the closure of the Institution for the Blind on Panchkuian Road, citing the absence of a mandatory certificate of recognition due to lack of land allotment papers and safety concerns.
The notice states that the institution has been operating in violation of the Right to Education Act, 2009, and the Delhi School Education Act, 1973.
“No school other than those established, owned, or controlled by the appropriate government or local authority shall be established or function without obtaining the mandatory certificate of recognition from the Competent Authority, in contravention of Section 18(1) and 18(5) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act),” it said.
The Department of Education has also directed the imposition of a penalty of up to Rs one lakh for non-compliance, and in case of contravention, a fine of Rs 10,000 for each day of violation.
The institute received recognition renewals until 2017. Sharma says they applied for renewal in 2013 and again on September 19, 2025, but received no reply.
The DOE has claimed that since 2019, the department has issued multiple reminders to the institute, detailing "substantial and material deficiencies" in the school's application for recognition. Despite these persistent reminders between 2019 and 2023, no remedial action was taken by the school management, according to the notice.
Infrastructure and Student Welfare Concerns
The notice also cited a report submitted by the fact-finding team dated September 5, 2023, following a notice issued by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The report highlighted inadequate infrastructure and raised concerns about student well-being.
“The infrastructure is in good condition. They have made no subsequent visits since issuing the notice. The Department of Social Welfare and other ministries come to our school to conduct inspections regularly, so how can the education department say that the infrastructure is not in good condition?” says Virendra Singh, principal of the institute.
Safety Allegations and Resident Disputes
The DOE has also highlighted concerns by some resident students regarding their personal safety. Three POCSO cases had been registered against three of the resident inmates, one of which was withdrawn.
“We have tried to evict the students who are forcibly staying in the institute premises after completing their education. We have written multiple letters to the police, but they do not take any action,” says Sharma.
“There are 15 such students residing in the Panchkuian Road campus. We provide the best of food, clothes and residence, which is why they are not leaving. We have filed a criminal case in the Saket District Court for the offence of trespassing. Regarding POCSO cases, there are norms to keep senior and junior students separate. We had put a partition between the dorms of both senior and junior students, but they broke the partition. They make the junior students lie on the same bed with them. I have asked the Child Welfare Committee to conduct a raid on our premises, but no such thing has happened,” added Sharma.
The Child Welfare Committee has now ordered the police to remove the passed-out residents until the next hearing date. The Additional Commissioner of Child and Women Welfare, New Delhi, has ordered the DCP to evict these students before October 11, according to Institute officials.
A dispute related to the institute is being heard in the Delhi High Court, during which the court, on August 13, directed the DOE to file an affidavit within four weeks stating its position regarding the requirement for the institute's recognition.
Until then, the future of 115 blind students remains uncertain.
