Education, healthcare on Cong’s poll agenda

In its third roadmap, the Congress focused on overhauling primary education and municipal health services, asserting it was focused on a constructive professional civic poll campaign tht offered solutions to problems faced by Delhiites.

“Instead of ‘Tu-Tu MaiMai’ campaigning involving allegations on opponents, we are contesting elections in an unprecedentedly professional manner,” said party leader Shashi Tharoor. The former union minister expressed “shock” over the “dramatic drop” in the number of students in schools run by three municipal corporations in the city since Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had come to power.

Citing various shortcomings of the 1,700 primary schools run by municipal corporations, he said that the Congress would set up an “empowered group” to revamp the schools. “The real problems are poor pupil-teacher ratios due to vacancies of around 6,500 teachers and lack of infrastructure,” he said expressing “shock” that kids were forced to sit on floors during winters due to the unavailability of furniture for them.

He also announced that after winning MCD elections, Congress would deposit Rs 1,000 in the account of each student enrolling in MCD schools so they could use it for their future education. Congress veteran Salman Khurshid said that party will win MCD polls through constructive and solution- oriented approach while highlighting a roadmap for primary health.

He pointed to the “overlapping” of roles among multiple agencies resulting in “lack of coordination” in providing health services to the people.