New Delhi: At 3.30 pm, when most classrooms become empty, the school day begins for thousands of boys across the city. Many arrive tired after helping in their family shops, running errands and after travelling long distances. By the time the lessons start, the boys are already low on energy. Over the years, this daily reality has shaped learning outcomes in hundreds of double-shift schools where the mornings are for girls’ and co-ed classes, and the evening shift is for boys who need to help their families earn more in the daytime.Delhi’s double-shift schooling system emerged as a response to land scarcity and overcrowded classrooms. With limited infrastructure and rising enrolment, many schools started two shifts. What began as a logistical solution has now evolved into a parallel system with uneven learning conditions and, hence, results.Govt is now planning on converting double-shift schools to single-shift in a phased manner. The Directorate of Education currently operates 799 school buildings, of which 284 run in two shifts. The double-shift campuses often stretch infrastructure and staff capacity to its limits. Efforts to undo this arrangement are not new. In 2019, a proposal to convert 92 double-shift schools into single-shift ones was approved, but the pandemic halted implementation. Govt data now makes visible what teachers and parents have long felt. Students in morning-shift classes, particularly in co-educational schools, perform better and show stronger overall learning outcomes. Stable routines, full-day access to school infrastructure help in their learning. Students who begin their day fresh rather than fatigued appear to learn better. In contrast, boys-only evening schools struggle with compressed schedules of three hours, weaker academic continuity and limited engagement. They face creating systemic disadvantages that extend beyond individual effort.“The evening shift has always received stepmotherly treatment. While sharing resources through double shifts may seem practical on the surface, serious operational problems persist. At the same time, infrastructure cannot be created overnight, and a shift cannot simply be removed without first ensuring that students have an alternative school to attend,” said former DU professor Rama Mathew.The 284 schools function from 3.30pm to 6.30pm, while morning-shift schools run from 7.30am to 1.30pm. Though the difference may appear to be only of a few hours, its impact on learning is significant and continuous.Pass percentages often appear similar at first glance when morning and evening schools are compared, but the scoring average, which gives the qualitative index, bares the disparity.Data across five years (2019-2024) show a lag in the performance of boys’ schools with evening classes. In Class X (2023–24), boys’ schools recorded a pass percentage of 93.82%, almost identical to girls’ schools at 93.83%, but their Qualitative Index (QI) was significantly lower — 269.29 versus 281.9. This bore out in the Class XII results too. Boys’ schools posted a 95.96% pass rate compared to girls’ 97.35%, along with a much lower QI — 299.67 against 316.23. Data from 2020 to 2023 reinforces this. Boys’ schools consistently trailed girls’ and co-educational schools in both pass percentage and academic quality, indicating that while many boys pass, their overall achievement levels remain weaker, hence the lower QI of these schools.An even sharper gap is visible between morning and evening shifts. In Class X (2023–24), evening-shift schools had a pass percentage of 92.84%, nearly 2 percentage points lower than morning schools at 94.76%, with a substantially lower QI — 266.85 versus 282.3. The same trend holds in Class XII, where evening shifts recorded the lowest pass rate at 95.33% and QI, which was 296.2, compared to general pass rate of 98.19% and QI 320.63. Morning shifts had a pass rate of 96.96% and a QI of 312.63. Since 2020, evening-shift schools consistently shown the weakest outcomes. Educationists say these outcomes are closely tied to students’ lived realities. Many boys in evening schools spend the day working. With limited academic supervision at home, as parents often lack formal education, schoolwork competes with economic pressure. Irregular attendance and weak monitoring further erode learning continuity. “The evening shift has a very poor track record. Both teachers and students tend to treat it as secondary. Schedules are loosely followed, and serious teaching often suffers,” said education activist and lawyer Ashok Agarwal.Experts caution, however, that dismantling the double-shift system will not be easy. A senior professor familiar with Delhi’s school education system said the advantages of morning, single-shift schooling are well established, but infrastructure constraints cannot be ignored. “Children are more attentive in the morning, routines are stable, and learning is more structured. Double shifts exist only because there are not enough classrooms,” he said. “Classrooms often accommodate more than 60 students, especially in higher grades. Without additional space and teachers, a single-shift model cannot function effectively.”Land availability is a critical bottleneck. With agencies like DDA controlling land and education falling under the Delhi govt, coordination delays expansion. A Delhi govt official said that Directorate of Education has proposed new schools on available land. “Plans include constructing 10 schools annually, with a target of 50 by 2029,” he said.
