'Delhi polls not an ordinary one between two parties'
New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia on Friday said that the upcoming Assembly Election is not just an ordinary election between two parties, but it is between two distinct models of shaping the country's future. Sisodia pointed to the significant and innovative measures adopted by the Arvind Kejriwal government to transform the education system. He criticised the education model of the BJP and Congress.
"We are reinforcing time and again that this election will be fought on the basis of work, particularly in the realm of education. The AAP government has taken various initiatives to develop the education model with significant increase in the budget for education, establishing quality infrastructure and regular training to teachers," said Sisodia.
"We have worked hard to bring futuristic changes in the education model of Delhi and therefore, it is imperative that we compare the education models designed and delivered by AAP and by the BJP," he added.
The Deputy CM said that the Happiness Curriculum has been praised by Education Ministers and officials of almost 20 states including BJP-ruled states. Even the Education ministers of Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh hailed it.
"Our second biggest educational intervention was the Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum (EMC). Nearly 2.5 lakh students pass out every year from Delhi schools. If all these students were to seek jobs, where are the opportunities for employment ? That was the rationale for introducing this curriculum in grades 9 - 12," said Sisodia.
"One girl student told me how she and her brother have now started helping their parents' business. People living abroad set up large companies and our citizens are employed by these companies, drawing only a salary with the profit companies going to those countries, enhancing their economy. If we apply the EMC in our country, the child will emerge with a flair for business and be able to combat the stress of unemployment, " he said.
"On the other hand, you have the education models of the BJP and Congress which stands out for its complete absence of any vision on quality of education. They are caught between whether to include references to Gandhiji and Nehru in the syllabus or not. BJP has now introduced a course in 'Bhoot Vidya' in universities, focused on delivering training in curing mental illnesses in families through primitive methods like mantra-tantra. Their education model is pondering on questions like whether internet existed in the age of Mahabharata," said Sisodia.
No dip in children studying in municipal schools: SDMC
Meanwhile, the chairman of SDMC standing committee, Bhupender Gupta on Friday has termed the allegations of a dip in the number of children studying in municipal schools baseless. According to Gupta, SDMC has developed 62 schools in the last five years with 1,209 classrooms.
