Kochi: Changes in public education could be brought in only by recognising the value of all the stakeholders involved in it, Delhi’s Education and Finance Minister Atishi said here on Friday. She said the AAP government in Delhi could effect a massive change in the education system by valuing the dignity of the students and teachers through a set of initiatives.
She was speaking at a seminar organised by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on 'the need of education reforms in Kerala'.
At the AAP Kerala unit’s public outreach event, Atishi, known as an educationist, detailed the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government’s efforts in reforming the school education system in the national capital territory in the past eight years.
She said transformation of government schools is a must because across the country there is a deep divide in terms of education children receive.
“In India, it is said that your destiny is written on the palm of your hand. The reality of our schooling system is such that it is almost the case. When a child takes admission to school, if their parent has the money to pay expensive fee of a high-end private school, then that child will get good education. He will probably pass out from the school and get admission to a college. He may pass out from there also and find a good job. But parents who don’t have much money are forced to send their children to a government school. Data shows that the chances of dropout is 50 per cent higher there. Even if a child manages to pass out of the school he may end up doing menial jobs,” Atishi said.
“Despite talent, there is a deep divide in terms of the kind of education and opportunities children in India get. The Delhi government has been trying to bridge this gap in the past eight years. She said the AAP government is the only government in the country that has set aside 25 per cent of its annual budget expenditure for education.
She recollected that when the AAP government came to power in Delhi for the first time in 2015 the government schools there were in very bad shape. She said the AAP government’s first priority was to improve the cleanliness and sanitation facilities of the schools.
“We often speak about the need to improve our education system, a better curriculum and pedagogy and all. But the fact of the matter is that if your school isn’t clean, if you can’t give the students a desk to sit on, a toilet to use and water to drink, then you are giving the children a clear message that they are second class citizens and they don’t matter to the government. Teachers also get this message,” she said.
She said the government’s next focus was to ensure the government schools get all the necessary infrastructure uplift. “People say a good teacher can teach even under a tree. But we should ask how many of those who make such claims would send their children to a school without a proper classroom,” she said.
Atishi said the government then shifted its attention to teaching in classrooms. She said the principals and teachers were sent to the top institutes, including IIM-Ahmedabad, in the country and even abroad to study the best practices.
“We had to deal with the same kind of students, teachers and parents. We could bring a change in the system because for the first time they all felt valued,” she said.
She also listed out initiatives such as competitions for teachers, construction of state-of-the-art sports infrastructure and introduction of a special curriculum for inculcating happiness, patriotism and entrepreneurial skills among the children as examples of her government’s reforms in the education sector.
She said in the past four years, three lakh students have shifted from private schools to government schools in Delhi as a result of the government's proactive development measures. "In the past six years, government school students have been outperforming private school students in board and entrance exams," she said.
AAP’s Kerala unit’s convener P C Cyriac, president Vinod Mathew Wilson, additional secretary Celine Philip, party leader Dr Sebastian James and former ambassador T P Sreenivasan spoke at the seminar.
