Delhi education model: Private schools too expensive, govt. too shabby

The Delhi education model is back in news obviously not for good reasons. The education in private schools has become dearer while the government schools lack the basic manpower to run the administration.

False Hopes

One word that is driving the world forward is hope. The hope of a better future, for them, for their kids and loved ones. Education is one way of assuring a better future for many in the world. Cashing on this hope, Kejriwal has ferried his boat for a very long time. His Delhi education model has not been challenged on facts but not anymore. Many facts have come out in the open to bust this imaginary cloud.

The Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia who also holds the education portfolio has given a nod to private schools to raise the school fees. He has claimed that they had not allowed schools to hike their fees since 2015, which has been countered by many parents. This hike will take a huge toll on covid hit pockets of the middle and the lower middle classes.

Many parents are questioning the timing of this hike as they are already suffering from a once in a century pandemic and have suffered salary cuts and all their savings are gone. The Delhi Parents Association (DPA) had called a protest on Tuesday 12th April, against this fee hike. The parents have also alleged that the transportation fees in most schools have gone up nearly by a whopping 30%.

The DPA president Aparajita Gautam said, “Two top private schools have increased the fees. The recent statements by Delhi’s education minister in which he falsely claimed that private schools in Delhi have not increased fees in the last many years are all a lie. The affected parents running from pillar to post to raise their concerns about the fee hike have not been heard by the education minister or the DOE (Directorate of Education).”

Mismanagement

The costly education in private schools hinders many kids from getting a quality education. As reported by TFI earlier, the option to enrol kids in Delhi government schools doesn’t seem to be promising at all as nearly 80% of schools have no headmasters to look after the day-to-day administration of the schools. The tall claims of allotting 23.5% of total budgeted expenditure are nothing but a sham. In reality, only 4.90% of the total budget is used for primary education.

The Delhi University Teachers’ Association earlier had also asked the CM to clear the salaries of teaching and non-teaching staff. They had not been paid their salaries for several months and had left the gurus in a dire situation. This is a sorry state of affairs as these teachers have to fight for their livelihood. Instead, their only focus should have been on school children’s education. This is happening in a state which claims to be a role model in the education sphere.

If the Delhi government uses the taxpayers’ money judiciously, not on self-glorification through hefty advertisements, at least the salaries of the teachers could be cleared. They will get to do what they should have been doing, had this government not created hurdles through mismanagement. Education is not merely the school infrastructure, it must be the curriculum, children, their parents and teachers who should be the prime focus while talking about the education model. All of which don’t reflect an ideal situation in the context of Delhi and only the advertisement money seems to be the reason for the over-hyped Delhi education model.