Delhi govt allocates Rs 16,377 crore for education sector in 2021-22 budget

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has allocated Rs 16,377 crore for education in its 2021-22 Budget, with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia saying the focus areas will be introducing a "deshbhakti pathyakram", setting up Delhi's own education board, creating a virtual model school and a teachers’ university.

In the last budget, the city government had allocated Rs 15,601 crore for the education sector. Presenting the 2021-22 budget in the Assembly on Tuesday, Sisodia said that like the previous six budgets, education this time too got almost "25 per cent" of the Rs 69,000-crore outlay.

Keeping in line with the theme of "patriotism" for the new budget, Sisodia said that the Delhi schools will introduce a "deshbhakti pathyakram" (patriotic curriculum) to instil a sense of nationalism among students. As part of this syllabus, an entire period everyday will be dedicated towards patriotism.

"Through ‘deshbhakti pathyakram’, we want to ensure that every educated person becomes such a hardcore patriot that if he/she holds a government office, he should feel bad about flouting even a red light, let alone take bribes. "Every educated person must be respectful towards women, fulfil their responsibilities towards the environment, and see patriotism also in equality and brotherhood. We aim to create such patriots in our schools,” Sisodia said.

He added that despite the country being independent for 75 years, "95 per cent" of the country's population does not have access to quality education. "Which is why chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has been insisting that education needs to me made into a mass movement," the minister said, adding that a mentorship programme will be started this year towards achieving this cause.

Youth for Education

As part of this ‘Youth for Education’ mentorship programme, lakhs of successful and educated youths will be trained to help students from underprivileged backgrounds to read and write. To further elevate the quality of education in schools, the government will undertake three major steps this year - preparing a new syllabus for classes Nursery to 8, establishing Delhi's own Education Examination Board, and to set up 100 Schools of Excellence in Delhi, the deputy CM said.

While the new syllabus for students of classes nursery to 8 was aimed at bringing Early Childhood Education into mainstream education, the purpose behind the introduction of Delhi's own examination board, and the schools of excellence was to provide education that would match international standards, he said.

"This board shall achieve three objectives - nurturing children to be patriotic, helping them to become good, benevolent human beings, and enabling them to find their footing in the world and become independent," he said. This year, 20-25 government schools will be included in its ambit, and the government hopes that all government and private schools would want come under its aegis of their own accord over the next 4-5 years, he added. With the Schools of Excellence, the government is aiming to provide world class facilities to the students of classes 9, 10, 11, and 12, he said.

"Under this scheme, 100 schools of specialised excellence from 9 to 12 class shall be opened in different parts of Delhi, which would also include the existing ‘Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya’ and the School of Excellence opened 5 years ago. "Identifying budding talents of the country and putting them in league with the best talents of the world by providing all required resources is politics of patriotism, according to us," Sisodia said.

Virtual Delhi Model School

Continuing the positive use of technology that came to light during the pandemic, the Delhi government will introduce the Virtual Delhi Model School - a unique experiment that will allow the regular learning process to continue, but will not require the four walls of a classroom, he said. "A school that will not have four walls or a building, but there would be children, teachers, regular teaching- learning, examinations and assessments, and studies shall be completed.

It will probably be the first virtual school in the world. "Work has already begun on the design of this school and it will be my endeavour to ensure that this school is ready and functional by the next session," the minister said. He added that it would benefit students residing in any part of the country but wanted to get educated under Delhi's education model. "We want to provide learning opportunities to all those students under the principle of 'anywhere living, anytime learning, anytime testing'," Sisodia said.

Talking about the Delhi government's plans to establish a separate teachers' university, he said, "It will be established with the objective of collaborating with various reputed national and international universities, and ensuring that a new set of well-equipped teachers are ready for the country," Sisodia said.

During the budget presentation, Sisodia also announced the government's plan to start a new army school and a new armed forces preparatory academy in the city. "There are 33 army schools in the country but Delhi does not have a single one. We will be opening Delhi's first army school, and at the academy, besides their regular education, students will also be prepared to enter the NDA as well as the Indian army,” he said. The government has allocated a sum of Rs 26 crore in the 2021-22 budget to honour and help the families of soldiers who lost their lives in the line of duty, he said.

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