Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma lambasted Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for his remark on the Assam state government’s decision to merge schools, which recorded zero pass percentage in class X examinations this year, with other schools.
Chastising Kejriwal for his habit of ‘commenting on something without doing any homework’, Sarma tweeted, “Dear @ArvindKejriwal Ji – As usual you commented on something without any homework! Since my days as Edu Minister, till now, please note, Assam Govt has established/ taken over 8610 NEW SCHOOLS; break-up below. How many new schools Delhi Government has started in last 7 yrs?
Dear @ArvindKejriwal Ji – As usual you commented on something without any homework!
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) August 25, 2022
Since my days as Edu Minister, till now, please note, Assam Govt has established/ taken over 8610 NEW SCHOOLS; break-up below.
How many new schools Delhi Government has started in last 7 yrs? https://t.co/PTV7bO4GKL
Taking a dig at the Delhi government, the Assam CM in his subsequent tweet listed the number of private schools the Assam govt has provincialised or taken over since 2013. Himanta Biswa Sarma then went on to ask Kejriwal to produce his numbers.
“Provincialisation or taking over Pvt schools into govt fold since 2013: Elementary 6802; Secondary 1589. Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya:81. Netaji Subash Chandra Bose Avashik Vidayalaya:3. Adarsha Vidyalaya:38. Tea Garden Model School:97. Curious to know Delhi’s figures!”, read Sarma’s second tweet.
The Assam CM was responding to Kejriwal’s August 24th Tweet wherein he remarked that closing schools was not the solution. “Closing schools is not the solution. We just need to open many new schools all over the country. Instead of closing the school, improve the school and make education right,” the AAP supremo tweeted in Hindi as he shared a report on the same by India Today.
स्कूल बंद करना समाधान नहीं है। हमें तो अभी पूरे देश में ढेरों नए स्कूल खोलने की ज़रूरत है। स्कूल बंद करने की बजाय स्कूल को सुधार कर पढ़ाई ठीक कीजिए। https://t.co/MBni1PTdng
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 24, 2022
Kejriwal’s remark came after the Assam government started taking action against 34 government or provincialized schools and 57 recognized venture schools with zero pass percentages in the HLSC/SHM examination this year.
The Assam CM had categorically mentioned that his government would be taking action against schools that registered zero pass percentage in HSLC (High School Leaving Certificate) and AHM (Assam High Madarsa) examinations, 2022.
However, Sarma was not the only one who took a jibe at the AAP Supremo for his unwarranted remark. Countering Kejriwal’s tweet, Assam Minister Pijush Hazarika wrote on his official twitter handle, “Firstly, schools in Assam are not being closed, rather amalgamated to improve the overall educational environment! Secondly, respected CM @ArvindKejriwal ji has no right to speak on educational upliftment as his fake ‘Delhi Model Schools’ have been busted from time to time.
Firstly,schools in Assam are not being closed,rather amalgamated to improve the overall educational environment!
— Pijush Hazarika (@Pijush_hazarika) August 25, 2022
Secondly,respected CM @ArvindKejriwal ji have no rights to speak on educational upliftment as his fake ‘Delhi Model Schools’ have been busted from time to time. (1/2) https://t.co/rO88xd3ywK
Hazarika, who holds the portfolios of water resources, information and public relations among others, further slammed Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi for “destroying” the education quality in Delhi which has brought down the pass percentage of Class 10 from 90.09 percent in 2011 to 81.27 percent in 2022.
824 out of 1,027 schools in Delhi do not have a headmaster, NCPCR seeks explanation
Interestingly the supporters of the Aam Admi Party (AAP) including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have perpetually boasted that a revolution has taken place in the field of education in Delhi. They are never tired of saying that Delhi’s government schools have turned world-class. However, the AAP’s false claims have frequently been exposed.
In fact, only recently, on April 12, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) sought an explanation over 824 vacant posts of principals in Delhi government schools. In a letter to Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Dev, the apex child rights body said a team led by chairperson Priyank Kanoongo visited several schools in the national capital and found discrepancies with regard to the infrastructure and other aspects. It further added that most of the schools visited by the teams did not have a Head of School (HoS), and the post was lying vacant.
In another letter to the Chief Secretary, the NCPCR said that Bharatiya Janata Party MP Manoj Tiwari visited Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Sabzi Mandi, Timarpur, Delhi, where he found major problems related to the hygiene in the school building. The apex body said such issues might lead to serious accidents in the school.
