Kejriwal promises free and good education if AAP elected to power in Gujarat

India

pti-PTI

Bhuj, Aug 16:
In
yet
another
pre-poll
guarantee
for
Gujarat,
Delhi
Chief
Minister
Arvind
Kejriwal
on
Tuesday
announced
free
and
quality
education
to
all
students
in
government
schools
in
the
state
and
auditing
of
private
schools
if
the
Aam
Aadmi
Party
(AAP)
was
elected
to
power
in
the
upcoming
Assembly
elections.

Asserting
that
enhancing
education
quality
of
state-run
schools
will
help
eradicate
poverty,
Kejriwal
said
it
is
possible
to
secure
the
future
of
53
lakh
students
who
attend
government
schools
in
Gujarat
like
he
has
done
with
18
lakh
pupils
going
to
such
institutes
in
Delhi,
where
his
party
AAP
is
in
power.

“All
those
born
in
Gujarat
will
get
free
and
quality
education.
We
will
not
force
anybody.
If
parents
have
money,
they
can
send
their
kids
to
private
schools.
But
if
they
do
not
have
money,
we
will
not
let
the
lack
of
money
come
in
the
way
of
good
education
for
their
kids.
We
will
provide
the
best
education
for
free,”
said
the
AAP
convener.

The
Delhi
CM
was
addressing
a
town
hall
at
Bhuj
in
Kutch
district
and
his
announcement
comes
in
the
midst
of
the
ongoing
national
debate
over
providing
freebies.

During
his
fourth
visit
to
the
Bharatiya
Janata
Party
(BJP)-ruled
Gujarat
in
recent
days,
Kejriwal
promised
to
improve
the
infrastructure
of
existing
government
schools
and
set
up
a
large
number
of
new
ones
across
the
state
if
his
party
comes
to
power
after
the
Assembly
polls
due
by
the
year-end.

He
said
the
if
AAP
forms
the
next
government
in
Gujarat,
all
private
schools
will
be
audited
and
made
to
return
“extra
money”
collected
from
parents
like
his
administration
has
been
done
in
Delhi.

An
AAP
government
will
also
end
the
practice
of
private
schools
selling
textbooks
and
uniforms
to
students
as
they
have
made
this
a
separate
business,
the
chief
minister
said.
“All
private
schools
will
be
audited
and
those
who
have
collected
a
lot
of
money
will
have
to
return
them
(to
parents).
If
a
school
intends
to
raise
fees,
it
will
have
to
get
permission
from
the
government.
No
school
will
have
the
permission
to
raise
fees
unlawfully,”
he
further
said.

When
the
AAP
forms
a
government
in
Gujarat,
service
of
teachers
working
on
a
contract
basis
will
be
regularised
and
they
will
be
offered
job
security,
the
CM
said.
It
will
also
be
ensured
that
government
schoolteachers
are
not
given
non-teaching
jobs,
the
AAP
leader
said.
Kejriwal
guaranteed
creation
of
teaching
jobs
in
new
schools
when
they
are
opened.

The
government
will
also
make
sure
that
facilities
of
higher
education
for
women
are
created
across
the
state
and
issues
faced
by
“vidya
sahayaks”
(education
assistants)
are
sorted
out,
he
added.

Candidates
who
have
cleared
the
Teacher
Eligibility
Test
(TET)
in
Gujarat
are
demanding
appointment
as
‘vidya
sahayaks’
(as
teachers
in
state-run
primary
schools
are
called)
on
a
large
scale.

The
bureaucrat-turned-politician
said
the
condition
of
government
schools
is
poor
not
just
in
Gujarat,
but
across
the
country.
“If
we
want
to
make
India
No.
1
country
in
the
world
or
a
‘Vishwa
Guru’
(world
leader)
and
prosperous,
then
the
first
thing
is
to
improve
education.
India
cannot
become
rich
without
improving
its
education.

“If
we
improve
the
condition
of
government
schools
in
Gujarat,
within
one
generation,
happiness
will
return
to
these
families.
Their
children
will
make
a
career
and
remove
poverty
of
their
parents.
This
is
how
India
and
Gujarat
will
grow,”
he
said.

Kejriwal
said
the
fees
committee
set
up
by
the
Gujarat
government
does
nothing
to
control
the
rampant
hike
in
fees
by
private
schools.
Parents
do
not
speak
against
private
schools
on
fee
hikes
or
other
issues
because
securing
admission
in
them
is
difficult
and
they
do
not
want
to
risk
their
kids
getting
rusticated,
he
said.

“These
governments
take
money
from
private
schools
and
more
than
half
of
private
schools
belong
to
these
politicians,
which
is
why
they
do
not
act
against
them,”
he
alleged
without
naming
anyone.

The
AAP
chief
said
his
government
has
improved
the
standard
of
schools
in
Delhi
because
of
which
poor
students
studying
there
are
now
able
to
secure
admission
in
engineering
and
medical
colleges.

He
talked
about
two
students
from
poor
financial
backgrounds
who
studied
in
Delhi
government
schools
and
later
secured
admission
in
the
All
India
Institute
of
Medical
Sciences
(AIIMS)
and
the
Indian
Institute
of
Technology
(IIT)
in
the
national
capital.

“When
the
children
of
poor
parents
make
a
career,
the
poverty
of
their
families
is
eradicated.
And
when
their
poverty
is
removed,
India
will
progress
and
become
rich,”
the
Delhi
CM
maintained.

Kejriwal
attacked
the
BJP
government
in
Gujarat
over
its
recent
announcement
of
a
package
of
Rs
550
crore
annually
towards
salary
hike
of
police
personnel.
He
said
policemen
wanted
an
increase
in
their
“grade
pay”
and
not
an
allowance
like
what
has
been
announced
by
the
government.
“They
were
demanding
grade
pay
which
they
were
not
getting.
I
supported
their
demand
after
which
the
Gujarat
government
woke
up.
But
what
they
offered
was
‘lollypop’,”
he
said.

The
AAP
convener
said
he
cannot
understand
why
the
state
government
is
reluctant
in
offering
better
salary
to
its
own
employees.
“What
I
have
learnt
is
that
they
have
only
increased
their
(police
personnel)
allowance.
I
request
the
government
to
take
back
the
allowance,
we
will
offer
them
grade
pay
when
we
come
to
power
in
the
state,”
Kejriwal
asserted.

Kejriwal,
during
his
earlier
visits
to
Gujarat,
had
announced
a
host
of
pre-poll
guarantees
related
to
electricity,
jobs,
unemployment
allowance,
women
and
tribals,
among
others.