The panel was appointed to inspect schools under the Delhi administration or municipal corporations as well as private schools in the capital, and ascertain how safe and secure they are for children studying there. A Delhi High Court-appointed panel of lawyers Friday said that 40% of girls studying in Delhi government and MCD schools in the morning shift come without eating breakfast from home but the institutions pay no heed, despite the Right to Food Act mandating that children be provided food at schools. The panel was appointed to inspect schools under the Delhi administration or municipal corporations as well as private schools in the capital, and ascertain how safe and secure they are for children studying there. “The National Food Security Act 2013 (also Right to Food Act) Chapter 2 and Schedule II provides that morning snacks of approximately 500 kcals should be provided to children (in the age group of 3 to 6 years), as breakfast… which children should not miss. However, I was shocked to find that nearly 40% of students come to school without eating breakfast daily and school authorities pay no heed to the fact,” advocate Ashok Agarwal, who has been appointed as amicus curiae by the court, said. While Agarwal, who heads the panel, filed his report with regard to Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Anand Vihar (morning shift); EDMC Nigam Pratibha Balika Vidyalaya, Anand Vihar (morning shift); and NDMC Nigam Pratibha Bal Balika Vidyalaya, Mukundpur-I (morning shift), he clarified that the “situation is nearly similar in all schools (Delhi government and MCD)”. He also highlighted that drinking water and toilets in these schools are “unhygienic”. The panel alleged that there are not enough CCTVs to monitor the safety and security of students, and that “picketing beats and effective police surveillance is not happening on a regular basis to prevent crime against children” in these schools. The report pointed to instances where government offices have occupied classrooms. The report also highlighted lack of infrastructure and cleanliness. The report said that in Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, 22 classrooms of the school building are occupied by Deputy Director of Education/ Directorate of Education office for the last 10 years. “And in the absence of adequate number of classrooms, students are adjusting themselves in laboratories and hall,” it added. “Similarly, Deputy Director of Education office (EDMC) has occupied 10 classrooms of EDMC Nigam Pratibha Balika Vidyalaya, Anand Vihar, which needs to be vacated with immediate effect,” it added. It further stated that 95% of students of NDMC Nigam Pratibha sit on mats in their classrooms as the infrastructure is in a “dilapidated condition”. It stated that Nigam Pratibha’s campus gives an overall impression that it has not been cleaned for months. “Garbage is lying all over the corridors and the classroom walls are full of dust, grime and cobweb,” the report reads. The counsel was appointed as amicus in a PIL initiated by the court on its own after receiving a letter by Delhi-resident Dishant Sharma, who has sought framing of guidelines to make schools accountable for children’s safety. He also sought police verification of support staff in schools, counselling of all staff, installation of CCTV cameras on school premises, separate washrooms for students.