The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has directed the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) to vacate all government school buildings currently being used as temporary shelter homes, with schools scheduled to reopen after the summer break on July 1.MCD asks Dusib to vacate schools being used as shelters ahead of reopeningThe directive was issued through a letter sent by the MCD’s education department to DUSIB on Tuesday after several teachers raised concerns over student safety, saying students would have to share school campuses with shelter residents.“The permission to utilise school building as a shelter for the homeless in south Delhi, as a part of the Summer Action Plan-2026, was granted for the period from May 15 to June 25 . As the education department is in the process of welcoming back students returning after the summer break on July 1. Therefore, you are requested to vacate all such school buildings under MCD jurisdiction which were utilised by you,” the letter, dated June 30, stated. A copy of the letter has been seen by HT.The schools were handed over by the MCD’s education department to DUSIB following a directive from the Delhi high court to arrange accommodation for people staying near hospitals in Delhi’s south district.A letter dated April 24, signed by the deputy director (night shelter), DUSIB, and addressed to the director of the MCD’s education department, sought the schools “for their utilisation as temporary shelter homes during the upcoming peak summer period.”“This request is in compliance with the direction of the High Court of Delhi wherein emphasis has been laid on ensuring adequate arrangements for the protection of homeless persons during extreme weather conditions around the hospitals of AIIMS, Safdarjung, RML, and Lady Hardinge.”The latest MCD directive comes amid a discrepancy over the duration of the arrangement. While DUSIB had earlier sought permission to use the schools till July 15, the MCD’s education department, in its June 30 letter, said permission had been granted only till June 25 and directed DUSIB to vacate the buildings before schools reopen.Several teachers at four MCD-run schools in Green Park, Arjun Park, Gautam Nagar and Humayunpur have raised concerns about student safety.“The main concern is that we don’t know who these people are. There’s only one gate, and it will have to remain open for those staying at the shelter. We don’t have security guards at MCD schools, so keeping the school gate closed is our primary way of ensuring that students remain safe inside,” a teacher requesting anonymity said.“Just as teachers are expected to perform multiple roles, school premises are also used for multiple purposes by the government. Most students in MCD schools are below the age of 10 or 12, and with limited staff, it will be extremely challenging to manage the situation,” the teacher added.Queries sent by HT to the director of the education department, MCD, the Directorate of Education and DUSIB did not elicit a response.When HT visited two of the schools on June 29, it found that one hall in each campus, ordinarily used as a classroom, had been converted into a 25-bed shelter home, with several people undergoing treatment at hospitals in south Delhi staying there.At one school, preparations were underway to remove 15 beds and return desks and chairs to the hall so the same space could function partly as a shelter home and partly as a classroom, said a caretaker, requesting anonymity.Anil Kumar, 46, from Bihar’s Purnia, has been living near AIIMS for the past three months while undergoing treatment for a tumour. He said he had been staying in a rented room in Yusuf Sarai, paying ₹200–300 a day, but was unable to find affordable accommodation after a fire at a bed-and-breakfast in Malviya Nagar. Another patient undergoing treatment then informed him about the shelter at the school.“I have almost exhausted my savings. Staying in Delhi is more expensive than the treatment itself. The shelter home has come as a relief,” Kumar said.