KARACHI: Hundreds of students of the Delhi Government School staged a protest on Monday against the sealing of their school in Federal B Area.

The school, regarded as one of Karachi’s prominent government educational institutions, was sealed by a court bailiff on August 29 after a long-running dispute over ownership and possession of the building.

A written notice was placed outside the school building by the Directorate of Education, Sindh School Education Department, stating that the premises had been sealed.

As the closure left around 2,800 students without access to their existing classrooms, a large number of students and teachers gathered outside the school premises on Monday morning and held their assembly on the road.

The protesting students, both boys and girls, held placards demanding that their school be reopened. They also chanted slogans, including School qabza na manzoor (we reject the school being taken over), Hamara school wapas do (give our school back), School nahi to hum nahi (no school, no us), and Classrooms abad rakho (keep the classrooms open).

Multiple students also broke open the locks of the two sealed blocks and entered the buildings. Footage that went viral on social media showed jubilant girls thronging their classrooms, despite knowing that it was not a permanent solution.

The dispute concerns the ownership and possession of the school premises between the Sindh government and the Delhi Anglo Association. Although the government had initiated proceedings to acquire the land, the matter remained unresolved for years.

As per an Education Department document, which is available with Dawn, the school complex primarily consists of Government Delhi Primary School Karachi (Block-A), Government Delhi Secondary School Karachi (Block-B), Government Delhi Boys Secondary School Karachi (Block-C), and Government Delhi College Karachi (Block-D).

It said the School Education & Literacy Department, in coordination with the Advocate General and the Solicitor Department, is taking necessary steps for filing an appeal before the sessions court, along with an application seeking stay of the operation of the impugned order and further proceedings pursuant thereto, so that the educational activities of the school may be restored and the interests of the students may be protected.

“The Department has also forwarded a request to the deputy commissioner, district Central, for initiation of proceedings for acquisition of the subject land in accordance with law, so that a permanent solution may be secured in the larger public interest,” it further said.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2026