Govt’s main focus is investment in human capital, says Manish Sisodia

New Delhi: Making no new “capital investment” has been one of the biggest criticisms of the AAP government, according to deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia.

“We are on working on Metros, bridges and roads, but these projects were started by the previous governments, at least on papers,” Mr Sisodia said, stressing that his government’s primary focus is on investment in “human capital”. The AAP government has been unable to implement some of its own schemes due to its current “obsession” with the health and education sector, he added. The Delhi minister was speaking at the launch of the 11th Annual Status of Education Report by NGO Pratham on Wednesday. He said improvement in education standards is the primary focus of his government in Delhi.

Slamming “economic pundits” for their lopsided views on development, he said: “If no new bridges, roads or glitzy buildings are seen, people think that no new development has taken place. This notion, a mad notion, about development is killing the country.”

The AAP government’s education model is being “bought” by voters in poll-bound states of Goa and Punjab, he claimed.

“The chief minister (Arvind Kejriwal) is of the view that if we are to choose between a bridge and a school, we should go for the school,” Mr Sisodia said, adding that the AAP government has massively scaled up the Budget on education in the last two years of the AAP rule.  

“In the first year, our focus was on school infrastructure... In fact, on my insistence, the Budget for teachers’ training was increased from Rs 9-9.5 crore to Rs 102 crore,” said Mr Sisodia, who holds both the education and finance portfolios.

“I know I am an ‘unpopular’ minister among teachers and school authorities but I will contest elections only on the plank of education model and not seek votes for the construction of flyovers,” he added. Transforming the education system might come at the cost of “popularity” for politicians, he claimed.

“At least 90 per cent of politicians and officers work for their own interest. The ministers want to work on projects on which they can seek votes, whereas the officers want to work on projects that may look fancy on their work reports,” he said.

“I go to schools for random school inspections and have observed that even though students cannot write and read basic words, officials claim that the teachers have covered the entire syllabus. The focus in schools is on completing the syllabus and not enhancing knowledge,” he added.