Sisodia dares Cong, BJP for a showdown in education

THE CONGRESS HAD ACCUSED THE GOVT OF FAILING TO SPEND THE EDUCATION BUDGET IN THE PAST TWO YEARS

NEW DELHI: Hitting back at the opposition for criticising his education policy, Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday challenged political parties to replicate school reforms initiated by the AAP government.

Sisodia, who is also the education minister of Delhi, was reacting to allegations from the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) about the failures of the government in the field of education.

The Congress had accused the government of failing to spend the education budget in the past two years, because of which almost ₹2,000 crore lapsed. The BJP said the number of students in government schools and their pass percentage had declined.

“I challenge the MCDS and governments of other states ruled by other political parties to compete with the work done in education sector by our govern- ment in Delhi. Let’s start today and then compare after a year or two,” said Sisodia at a press conference. He said he was happy that education had finally become a matter of concern for the two parties.

Vijender Gupta, the leader of opposition,however said the government had still failed to address their questions, by issuing the challenge. “Instead of addressing our questions, he is indulging in politicking,” he said.

Ajay Maken, Delhi Congress chief, reiterated the allegations and said Delhi’s performance should not be compared with that of other states.

Sisodia said the government had inherited a broken system from the Congress, and it takes time to fix it. He saidthe two parties were working hand-in-glove with private sector institutions to the detriment of the government schools in the states where they were in power.

Addressing the allegations raised previously, he said while enrolment in government schools had dropped to 15,27,543 in the 2016-17 academic session from 16,10,410 in the 2013-14 year, enrolment in MCD schools had dropped from 9,18,834 in 2013-14 to 8,22,769 in 2016-17.

As Mcd-run primary schools work as feeders for the higher grades in government schools, their enrolment numbers can have an impact on government school numbers as well, he said.

He emphasised the government’s increased spends on education, by pointing out that the 2016-17 budget allocation for education was ₹1228.9 crore while under the previous regime the education budget was ₹210 crore in 2012-13 and ₹271.9 crore in 2013-14.