The New Delhi Municipal Council has renamed some of its schools from Nagar Palika Schools to 'Atal Adarsh Vidyalaya' after the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpaye. The decision to rename the schools was taken to improve the perception on schools and enhancement enrolment as per the council. NDMC's education director RP Gupta said that 'In order to increase enrolment and improve the public perception about the municipal schools, a resolution was passed to change the names of all the nagar Palika Schools to Atal Adarsh Vidyalala from the 2019-20 academic sessions. He also said that all the principals have been asked to get the names of the schools changed in all the records.
The New Delhi Municipal Council runs around 31 schools in the city. The New Delhi MP Meenaksi Lekhi also said that the council had received multiple requests for the schools to be renamed after the later prime minister. She further added that 'Atalji's life is worth emulating for the students. He was a poet, a writer, profound thinker and a man of intellect. His name will inspire students.' Lekhi added that other such projects are also in the pipeline.
The move to rename the New Delhi municipal schools has come just days after the Centre run Manohar Lohia Hospital proposed that its medical institute be called Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Undergraduate and Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and research. It is currently know as Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER). The college administration sent the proposal for the renaming of the institute after the late prime minister to the Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Monday i.e. on 8th July 2019. Also, the South body has decided to name its currently under construction headquarters near Pragati Maidan after the late prime minister.