Education reforms a myth, says Ajay Maken

New Delhi: The number of students enrolled in Delhi government schools fell down by 98,000 in the past two years of the AAP’s rule, even as the enrolment in private schools increased by 1.42 lakh, alleged the Congress on Thursday.

In a detailed presentation called “The Reality of Delhi Government Education: An expose,” the Congress challenged Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s claims of achievements in education sector, saying it was a “myth” as not only children were leaving Delhi government schools, but also less number of them were passing out.

”The government keeps highlighting its achievements in education sector through advertisements and photo-ops, which is a myth, but in reality 98,000 dropped out in the past two years. At the same time, 1.42 lakh students have enrolled in private schools,” said Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken.

“The students’ capacity in Delhi government schools rose when the Congress was in power in Delhi, but started declining after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came to power,” he said.

The report was compiled by accessing data from various websites and documents of Central Board and Secondary Education (CBSE) and Delhi government. The report empahasised that the growth of senior secondary schools in Delhi was at a mere 0.60 per cent, much lower than the average population growth of Delhi at 2.42 per cent. While the ruling government claims to have increased budget allocation to the education sector, Rs 1,982 crore were not utilised in the past two years, the report said. Quoting figures, he said “The unspent amount was Rs 387.07 crore in 2014-15 , which rose to Rs 1,000.73 crore in 2015-16 and Rs 981.45 crore in 2016-17.”