British destroyed Indian education system: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday accused the British of destroying the Indian education system and turning it into an assembly-line of clerk making, as he called on students to train to become job givers, not seekers. Kejriwal made the remark while addressing the inauguration ceremony of the east Delhi campus of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, during which he was interrupted by slogans allegedly being raised by BJP workers.

Kejriwal dedicated the new campus to the country and termed it one of the best the country has. "It has excellent facilities and in terms of architecture, it can be counted as one of the best campuses in the country. This campus will accommodate 2,500 students. It will benefit the economy of the area around it with the opening of shops and generation of employment opportunities," he said.

"There was no campus like this in east Delhi. We prepared a model for school education where even those without money can get their child educated. Now, we have to focus on higher education," he added.

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The CM slammed British bureaucrat Lord Macaulay for creating an education system in the 1830s that still exists, merely to churn out educated clerks. "They destroyed the education system of India to prepare clerks. We didn't make changes in this system. We have to do something to give education that provides employment.

"On this campus, students will be taught automation, design, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data management, innovation. This is the demand of the technological world," he said. Kejriwal said that the vice-chancellor of every university should be responsible for getting students jobs, as he stressed on students to become employers and not go after jobs which are in scarcity in the country.

Earlier, Education Minister Atishi addressed the gathering and even her speech was interrupted by sloganeering. Varsity Vice-Chancellor Mahesh Verma warned the disrupters to calm down else he would be forced to end the event.

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During her speech, Atishi said, when she posted pictures of her campus visit two months back, someone asked her, "'Is this the campus of Stanford University or New York university?'" to her surprise. "I said 'no, this is the campus of the Guru Gobind SIngh Indraprastha University constructed by the Delhi government.' Some people say the country will progress by building flyovers and bridges.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says that the construction of more schools and colleges will lead the country to progress," she said. The GGSIPU's east Delhi campus has become the latest flashpoint between the AAP-led city government and Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, with both sides claiming the right to inaugurate the newly built campus and take credit for its construction.