When Classrooms Turn into Warehouses: BMC's Struggle to Take Back School Spaces from the Election Commission

By Niraj Pandit | April 2, 2025

 

In a concerning development for municipal schools across Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is struggling to reclaim vital academic spaces that have long been under the control of the Maharashtra State Election Commission. A total of 15 school auditoriums and 78 classrooms—meant to nurture student learning and creativity—remain inaccessible, many of them repurposed as storage units or left unused for over a decade.

These spaces that were filled with cultural and educational activities now represent symbols of bureaucratic gridlock. "School auditoriums are critical to host cultural programmes, assemblies, and other student activities, but they've been converted into warehouses. This impacts students' development as a whole," said Nitin Dalvi, a worried parent of a student at City of Los Angeles School in Matunga.

 

Two halls have been kept closed at this school, whereas schools such as Worli Sea Face, Dharavi TC Marathi School, and New Sion School have faced similar destinations. The situation is particularly grim at New Sion School, which caters to about 9,000 students and has been forced to suspend reconstruction activities due to one of its auditoriums and five classrooms still being in use. In an attempt to adjust, BMC has been consolidating classrooms to make up for the deficit—a temporary and unsustainable solution.

 

The effect goes beyond these few institutions. Several municipal schools in eastern and western suburbs are accommodating election-related machinery, compelling school activities to be held in classrooms or open areas rather than suitable auditoriums.

 

A BMC education department official pointed to the larger picture: "Auditoriums are needed for overall student development. Though we know the value of election work, these auditoriums were constructed for students. Now we cannot utilize them for their purpose."

 

In spite of these problems, there have been modest gains. Certain schools in Colaba have been vacated due to collaboration with the election commission. Prachi Jambhekar, deputy municipal commissioner of education, commented, "We have written to the election commission, asking them to release these spaces so that students can gain from them once again."

 

Parents and educators are also crying out for immediate action. As education development teeters on the edge, recapturing these spaces is no longer a matter of convenience in administration—it's an imperative to the future of Mumbai students.