"Teachers insulted and schools ruined", Arvind Kejriwal hits out at BJP amid stray dog row

New Delhi: AAP supremo and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday hit out at the Delhi government accusing it of insulting teachers and ruining schools, as a political slugfest erupted over an order on appointment of nodal officers by schools for handling matters related to stray dogs.

Earlier in the day, Delhi education Minister Ashish Sood rejected claims that teachers have been deployed to handle matters related to stray dogs around their educational institutions. He alleged that the AAP leaders have been spreading misinformation on social media, claiming that teachers were being diverted from their academic responsibilities for non-teaching duties.

Weighing in on the issue, Kejriwal said in a post on X in Hindi, "Will teachers in Delhi's government schools teach children, or will they count dogs on the streets instead? This order from the BJP's Delhi government exposes their thinking and priorities." Alleging that education is not even an issue for the BJP, he said that the ruling party is "insulting teachers and ruining schools".

"When our government was in Delhi, we respected teachers, removed unnecessary burden from them, and made children's education the topmost priority. We sent teachers abroad for training and improved the schools. Today, the BJP government is bent on destroying everything," he charged in the post.

In a press conference, Sood said the directorate of education (DoE) had only asked schools to appoint nodal officers to deal with issues related to stray dogs in the vicinity of educational institutions in compliance with a supreme court order, but clarified that no specific duty had been assigned to teachers.

Referring to an official clarification issued by the Directorate of Education on Monday, Sood said the department had categorically stated that no directions were issued for assigning any stray dog-related work to teachers.

Meanwhile, addressing a press conference, AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha said, "Today, Ashish Sood released a video accusing the AAP of spreading lies. He asked us to show the order which said that teachers will look after stray dogs. The Directorate of Education had released an order asking teachers to be deployed for matters related to stray dogs.”

The MLA said the minister is rejecting that teachers will not be deployed. "He is saying that there is nothing like that. Either he is not aware of what is happening in his department, or he is spreading lies," Jha said. The AAP MLA claimed that the BJP was not able to handle the education system in Delhi.

"Before 2015, teachers were deployed for other things, but after our government came to power, Manish Sisodia (who was the education minister) understood the pain of teachers. Sisodia has left behind a legacy in terms of shaping the education system, and these people are not able to handle it," he said.

Echoing similar views, AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar said the BJP is ruining the education system of Delhi. "Earlier, there were news reports about teachers being sent to foreign countries for training or how Arvind Kejriwal was protesting against the Lieutenant Governor over his refusal to send teachers to Finland. But now stories are being printed about teachers being deployed to monitor stray dogs," he said.

Kumar demanded that the BJP government withdraw the order. "Similar orders have also been issued in Haryana. But there is a strong opposition party here in Delhi. We are standing with teachers," he added.

The Directorate of Education directed schools in the national capital to appoint nodal officers to handle matters related to stray dogs around their educational institutions, in compliance with a Supreme Court order over the issue, but no such specific role has been assigned to teachers.

In an official statement issued on Monday, the directorate clarified, "No directions have been issued by the Directorate of Education concerning the assignment of specific duties to teachers."