Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
- overcrowded / ˌoʊvɚˈkraʊdəd / (adj) – having too many people at a particular place
Example:The school’s playground is so overcrowded. The students don’t even have enough space to move.
- multipurpose / ˌmʌltiˈpɚpəs / (adj) – can be used for different purposes
Example:The teachers use the multipurpose room for meetings and other events.
- decongest / ˌdi·kənˈdʒest / (v) – to prevent from being too crowded
Example:The head of the dormitory is relocating renters to decongest the building.
- ferry / ˈferi / (v) – to transport people from one place to another on a regular basis
Example:The school bus ferries children to and from school.
- foot the bill / fʊt ðə bɪl / (idiom) – to pay for an expense or cost
Example:The school is asking for donations because it cannot afford to foot the bill for new computers.
Article
Read the text below.
The Delhi government in India will build more than 12,000 new rooms to address the problem of overcrowded schools.
Many public schools in Delhi have insufficient classrooms to accommodate a large number of students. Some schools even cater to 100 or more students per classroom. Because of this, some schools have resorted to operating in double shifts. One example is a public school in Delhi that holds classes for 1,300 students in the morning and about the same number of students in the evening. Aside from insufficient classrooms, the school has only two toilets that are meant to be used by 2,600 students.
To address these problems, the Public Works Department (PWD) plans to complete the construction of the new rooms by 2020. The new rooms will consist of almost 10,000 classrooms, 328 laboratories, 106 multipurpose halls, 204 libraries and rooms for personnel, and 1,067 toilets. All in all, the project has an estimated cost of over US$420 million.
Manish Sisodia, Delhi’s deputy chief minister and education minister, hopes that the new rooms will be able to decrease the number of students per classroom. He also explained that the need for new classrooms will continue to increase as more private school students transfer to public schools.
In the past, the Delhi government has explored other options to decongest overcrowded classrooms. In 2016, it ferried children from overpopulated schools in the city to other schools that can accommodate more students. The government footed the bill for all the buses necessary to transport the children to schools in other locations.
Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
• Why is it important to decongest overcrowded classrooms?
• What do you think are other ways to address overcrowded classrooms?
Discussion B
• What other things do you think should be improved in public schools?
• Do you think your government prioritizes these aspects? Why or why not?