Facing a severe shortage of classroom furniture across government schools, the Delhi government has cleared the procurement of 10,000 dual desks from the Tihar Central Jail Factory, a move it says will simultaneously upgrade school infrastructure and support inmate rehabilitation.
The proposal was approved at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday. The Chief Minister's Office said the decision addresses two long-standing issues at once: rising enrolment in government schools and the chronic shortfall of basic classroom furniture.
"This initiative aligns with the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs' recommendations to promote inmate rehabilitation through productive work programmes," CM Gupta said, adding that the desks will be supplied at approved rates, inclusive of GST. The first lot of 10,000 desks will cost Rs 8.95 crore, which includes transportation and other ancillary charges.
Officials said the Tihar Jail Factory's carpentry and fabrication units will handle production, providing "meaningful employment and skill-development opportunities" to inmates as part of the prison's ongoing vocational programmes.
Survey Flagged A Massive Gap
Education Minister Ashish Sood said Delhi currently has 1,086 government schools, but a special survey conducted in April exposed a major deficit.
While 127 schools alone needed 23,321 dual desks, additional requests pushed the total demand to nearly 25,000.
With classroom strength rising every year, several schools have been functioning with broken, mismatched or inadequate desks, forcing students to sit on the floor during peak periods.
The government will begin by procuring 10,000 desks in the first phase, Sood said, with more rounds planned to meet the full requirement in stages. The Education Department has already earmarked Rs 20 crore in the 2025-26 budget for furniture and related upgrades.
Why Tihar?
Officials said the Tihar Jail Factory has been supplying furniture to government departments for years and offers two key advantages:
- Lower procurement rates compared to private suppliers
- A direct boost to inmate rehabilitation, as prisoners work in fabrication, carpentry and welding units under supervision
The government said the arrangement also ensures supply-chain stability, something private vendors have struggled with in the past.
What Next?
With approvals in place, the first batch of desks will now move into production at the jail factory. Deliveries are expected to be rolled out in phases to schools that reported the most urgent shortages.
As one senior official put it, the goal is simple: "No child in a Delhi government school should be forced to sit on the floor because we don't have enough desks."
