India, Sept. 18 -- About 90 kilometres from Gurugram's DLF Cyber City, in Gokalpur village of Nuh's Ferozepur Jhirka block, stands a two-storey government middle school where teachers and students have been struggling for space despite a half-finished building towering over them. For nine years, the upper floor has remained locked in time, not because of structural damage or safety concerns, but for a reason hard to believe: no staircase was ever built to reach it.

The missing staircase has rendered five classrooms inaccessible since 2017-2018, when the first floor was constructed, students and staff claim. The result: 500 children from classes I to VIII, and their seven teachers, are forced to squeeze into just five usable classrooms on...