Delhi’s government schools will get medical rooms under a ₹48.87-crore plan intended to provide students with immediate first aid and basic care during school hours, Education Minister Ashish Sood said on Sunday. The initiative will cover all 1,086 government schools under the Directorate of Education and will be implemented in phases.
The medical rooms are intended to support students who suffer minor injuries, sudden illness, fatigue, dizziness or other temporary health problems while at school. The facilities will also provide students with a place to rest for a short period, age-appropriate health guidance and counselling, according to an official statement cited in the announcement.
Each school will have a trained health worker, such as an auxiliary nurse midwife or a multipurpose health worker, assigned to the medical room. Their role will include providing basic first aid and looking after students who need immediate attention during school hours.
The proposed rooms will include basic supplies and facilities such as wound dressing, oral rehydration solution and a space for students to rest. However, the rooms will not provide diagnostic testing or medicines, the statement said. This limits the facilities to immediate support and first aid rather than full medical treatment.
The rollout will begin with schools that already have rooms available for the purpose. The next phase will focus on schools where alternative rooms can be used or where porta cabins will need to be installed. The announcement did not specify the number of schools to be covered in each phase or a completion timeline for the full programme.
The plan also includes a private space for girl students to address health-related needs during menstruation. This is intended to give students access to a designated area within the school when they require privacy or a short period of rest.
Sood said government schools should provide every student with a safe and caring environment. He added that parents and teachers would have greater reassurance if immediate first aid and appropriate care were available within the school premises when a child suddenly fell ill or suffered an injury.
The initiative places first-response facilities inside school campuses rather than relying only on parents or outside medical services for minor health incidents. Its implementation will depend on the availability of rooms, the creation of porta cabins where required and the deployment of trained health workers across all 1,086 schools.
