Kejriwal terms AAP’s work in education sector as ‘sapling’, warns against its ‘trampling’

PTI, Nov 11, 2024, 8:14 AM IST

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday described the achievements of his party’s government here in the education sector as planting a “small sapling” and claimed its “trampling” would erase any future for poor children’s education.

Interacting with parents of children studying in Delhi government-run schools as part of the AAP’s ‘Shiksha Par Baat, Maata Pita Ke Saath’ programme here, he claimed that before the party came to power, the city’s government schools were in “deplorable conditions, often operating out of tin sheds and tents”.

According to a statement from the AAP, the parents attending the event expressed their gratitude to Kejriwal for “revolutionising” the education system in Delhi.

Addressing the meeting, Kejriwal sought the parents’ opinion about the education system and said, “What we have achieved in the education sector in Delhi is just a small sapling. Its trampling would erase any future for poor children’s education in this country.” Referring to the time before the AAP came to power, the former chief minister said, “Back then, there was no clean drinking water, no toilets for girls, no boundary walls, and the roofs were on the verge of collapse.” Kejriwal credited the hard work of Chief Minister Atishi and Manish Sisodia’s team for the rapid transformation in Delhi’s education system, the statement from the AAP stated.

“Within a year or two (after the AAP came to power, they worked tirelessly. Today, nearly all government schools here have new buildings and classrooms,” he said.

During the interaction, Kejriwal highlighted how, prior to his tenure, there was a widespread belief that the government could not manage schools and should hand them over to private entities.

“Imagine, if all these schools had been privatised, could parents afford fees of Rs 5,000 per month? Most families don’t even earn that much,” he remarked.

Chief Minister Atishi commended the transformation of government schools under Kejriwal’s leadership.

“Today, Delhi government schools are world-class. This transformation happened because the people of Delhi elected an honest and responsible leader like Arvind Kejriwal,” she said.

Atishi mentioned that from 1947 to 2015, Delhi had just 24,000 classrooms in government schools. However, under Kejriwal’s leadership, over 22,000 new classrooms were added in the past decade, the chief minister claimed.

“Kejriwal invested taxpayers’ money in public schools, building a future for children,” she said while underlining that many students from Delhi government schools have qualified in IIT and medical entrance exams.

Several parents also shared their experiences at the event.

Jai Singh Kushwaha, whose son attended Sarvodaya School in Jor Bagh, spoke about his achievement in chess. “I never imagined he would make it to the state level,” he said.