Lack of space hindrance in opening more 'Specialised Excellence' schools: Manish Sisodia

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government wishes to expand its Specialised Excellence schools in all zones of the capital, however, there is an issue of space, Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said on Saturday, during a visit to one of the schools.

Sisodia was interacting with students of DR B R Ambedkar School of Specialized Excellence at Surajmal vihar. Dr B R Ambedkar Schools of Specialised Excellence are choice-based schools for Class 9 to 12 that allow students to specialise in their chosen fields of study.

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Currently, there are 46 schools of specialized excellence in the national capital. "Here, we have skill-based learning. We have collaborated with the IB board and This is the first of its kind initiative done by us. Learning is important. We have no pressure of studies here. Students are here to get exposure in all subjects," Sisodia said. "We want these specialized schools in all zones but we are facing the problem of space," he added.

The minister said that the government is collecting data on students to move forward with its plan to increase the number of specialized schools. "We have taken data from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and doing a mapping of how many students are from which zone. We have data that when students come to our schools in class 6. We have data on which schools’ students have their basics clear and which schools we should work from the scratch," he added.

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Sisodia, who is also the education minister of the state, asked the students about their experience in the school. "We have the best choice of subjects here. This makes it different from other schools," said Rinky, a Class 9 student Another student who was in a private school before joining the school of specialised excellence talked about the difference she felt in both schools.

"Here we are not marked on the basis of one exam. We are accessed throughout the year and we are getting exposure in all aspects," Arya, a Class 9 student, said. Sisodia requested the parents to regularly attend the parent-teacher meetings to get the feedback of their wards. "I take your feedback as an opportunity to improve further. My request is that both parents should come and take the feedback from teachers and make this PTM successful," he said.