For decades, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) schools served as the backbone of affordable education for the city’s working class and underprivileged families, but now, a trend of converting closed school buildings for non-educational administrative uses has emerged. However, a startling set of data obtained through the Right to Information (RTI) Act by activist Abhay Kolarkar paints a picture of a shrinking public education system. The report highlights a steady decline in the number of Hindi, Marathi and Urdu medium schools and the systematic handover of 35 educational spaces to administrative offices, private foundations and commercial entities. From classrooms to offices According to the RTI report, there is a list of 35 NMC-owned school buildings that have been shut down and repurposed for non-educational uses.

 

These buildings are now serving as administrative hubs or are leased to external organisations: Zonal and administrative offices: The Valmiki Nagar Hindi Primary School and Gokulpeth Marathi Primary School have been converted into the Zone No 02 Divisional Office. Similarly, the Jawahar Nagar Marathi School now houses the Zone No 03 office, while the Mirchi Bazar Marathi School has been taken over by the Zone No 05 office. Police and security: The Shanti Nagar Urdu Primary School is currently leased to the Shanti Nagar police station. In another instance, the Aditwar Marathi School is being used as a Security Guard Camp and a Night High School. Public utilities: The Hiwari Layout Marathi School and the Budhwari Marathi School have been handed over to Orange City Water (OCW) to serve as their operational offices.

 

Social and commercial use: The Shankar Nagar Marathi Primary School is slated for a Women Entrepreneurs’ Centre, while the Bhagwan Nagar Marathi School has been leased to Sacred English Medium School. Shifting landscape of primary education The RTI response shows a worrying downward trend in the number of primary schools operating under the NMC’s direct control. Between 2023 and 2025, the city witnessed a consistent reduction in its native-language educational infrastructure: Marathi Medium: Dropped from 32 schools in 2023 to 27 in 2025. Hindi Medium: Saw a significant reduction from 44 schools in 2023 to 36 in 2025. Urdu Medium: Decreased from 17 to 14 in the same period. English Medium: Number remained stagnant at 7. While the number of secondary schools has remained relatively stagnant with the total number of Marathi (7), Hindi (11), and Urdu (9) schools remaining unchanged over the last three years.

 

The primary sector is undergoing a ‘merger and closure’ phase. The NMC administration justifies these closures by citing a lack of student enrollment, which leads to the adjustment of remaining students into nearby functional municipal schools. Handover to private foundations The RTI confirms that, while the NMC currently operates 107 schools on its own, 07 schools have been handed over to the Akanksha Foundation. This shift signals a move towards a semi-privatised model where the physical infrastructure belongs to the city, but the management and pedagogical delivery are outsourced to a third-party organisation. As more school buildings are converted into ‘E-Libraries’, memorials like the Balasaheb Thackeray Memorial (at the former Chitnavispura School), or indoor stadiums, the future of accessible, municipal-run primary education in Nagpur remains a subject of intense debate among parents and education activists.