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The Cabinet of Delhi Government has approved the proposal to purchase 10,000 dual desks from Tihar Central Jail Factory with the aim of removing the shortage of furniture in government schools of the capital. This decision was taken in the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. The Chief Minister says that this decision will not only improve the learning environment in schools, but will also create employment and rehabilitation opportunities for the jail prisoners.

Giving information about the cabinet decision, the Chief Minister said that this purchase is in line with the instructions given by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of the Central Government in the 3rd National Chief Secretaries Conference, in which emphasis was laid on rehabilitation of prisoners and linking them with productive activities.

Estimated cost of 10,000 desks

He said that all dual desks will be made available at the proposed rates including GST. The total estimated cost of 10,000 desks has been fixed at Rs 8 crore 95 lakh 40 thousand, which also includes transportation and other expenses. For this purchase, the Education Department has already made a provision of Rs 20 crore in the budget for the financial year 2025-26, which has been kept for the purchase of furniture and other essential items.

More affordable than the market

The Chief Minister has also clarified that this initiative serves the purpose of rehabilitation, reformation and reintegration of prisoners into the society. The quality of the desks manufactured by Tihar Jail is at par with the furniture used by the Public Works Department (PWD) and this option is estimated to be about 25 percent more affordable than the market price. The Chief Minister says that on one hand this decision will provide better educational facilities to the students and on the other hand it will become a powerful medium of skill development and employment for the prisoners lodged in Tihar Jail. This initiative is expected to strengthen both the education system and social reform.

Lack of dual desks in schools

According to Education Minister Ashish Sood, Delhi Government operates a total of 1086 government schools in the capital. In recent years, the number of students in schools has increased continuously, along with the construction of new classrooms. This led to the shortage of dual desks. He said that to know the actual need, a special survey campaign was conducted in April, in which reports were sought from school heads, district deputy directors and regional directors.

After this process, the requirement of 23,321 dual desks for 127 schools was revealed. Apart from this, other schools have also demanded, hence the total requirement reached approximately 25,000 desks. He said that to fulfill this requirement in a phased manner, it has been decided to purchase 10,000 desks in the first phase. He told that this process of purchasing desks will continue.