American Embassy School Reeling Under Crisis - Hopes Pinned On Modi

NEW DELHI: The American Embassy School in New Delhi's plush diplomatic enclave is deep in crisis after nearly 40 teachers quit as a fallout of last year's India-U.S. diplomatic row.

The staff is hoping that with a new Indian government in place, matters would mend soon.

The school, one of the most elitist and expensive in the capital, is in the throes of a crisis after 40 teachers quit since March this year and more than a dozen were forced to return to the U.S. to renew their visas, knowledgeable sources said.

"Over 40 teachers have left since March this year," a source told IANS, not wishing to be named being not authorised to speak on these sensitive issues.

"While we do have teachers leaving regularly as their stay in India ends, this is unprecedented. We've never faced such a situation before," said the source.

"We are all hoping that with the Modi government coming in, things will now get better and the crisis in the school will be over," the source added.

The Obama administration is sending Nisha Desai Biswal, its point person for South and Central Asia, to India next week to hold talks with the new government on bilateral and regional issues. The upcoming Biswal visit has also led to hopes that the AES crisis would soon be a thing of the past.