Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee to constitute a fact-finding committee to probe the death of a student on July 30 and submit its report—Ajay Maken.

·        The AAP Government in Delhi should come out with a whitepaper on the changes in the education policy—Ajay Maken.

·        Delhi government should stop dividing students in “bright” and “weak” categories---Ajay Maken.

·        The AAP Government  claimed credit for enhancing the education budget to 106 per cent though according to the revised estimates, Rs 1078 crore got lapsed and only 22 to 23 per cent were spent.

·      DPCC to write a letter to  Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the one-sided and arbitrary changes made in the education policy—Ajay Maken.  

NEW DELHI, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Shri Ajay Maken has demanded that the AAP Government in Delhi issue a white paper on the policy changes in education, as education is a serious business and it should not be used for deriving political mileage. He said any changes in the education policy should be implemented only after discussing it with experts and all the stake holders. He said the DPCC would write a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the one-sided and arbitrary changes made in the education policy.

Addressing a press conference at the DPCC office, Rajiv Bhawan here today, Shri Ajay Maken said the Congress party has deliberated on the issue with experts in the field, and was firmly committed to accessible and quality public education for all the children and youth, without discrimination. He said there is lack of transparency and apparent arbitrariness in the way policy changes are being initiated in Delhi Government schools. Shri Maken said several so-called steps appear to have been taken such as categorizing children on the basis of one-time performance into “ability” sections, arbitrary pruning of the syllabus, compelling children to opt for vocational subjects in Class XI etc. He said it was therefore  important that the Delhi government come out with a white paper on its approach to education to allow informed public opinion and to ensure that the reforms do not violate RTE (Rights to Education) norms. He said the state of public education has come under much discussion lately in the light of the new education policy being mooted by the Centre and the widely-publicised changes in public schools of Delhi.

Chief spokesperson Smt. Sharmistha Mukherjee and senior leader Shri Chattar Singh were also present at the press conference.

Shri Ajay Maken said the DPCC will take a considered view on public education in Delhi after a thorough review of the ground situation and consultation with academia, civil society, parents and children. He said as part of this exercise, the DPCC organized a three-hour seminar  with some experts, activists and practitioners on August 6 at the DPCC office, Rajiv Bhawan, which was attended, besides Shri Ajay Maken, by Prof Poonam Batra and Prof Anita Rampal (Department of Education, Delhi University), Prof. Janaki Rajan (Jamia Millia Islamia) and Mr Ambarish Rai (Convenor of the National Forum of RTE). Ex-Education Minister of Delhi Dr Kiran Walia also attended the seminar.

Shri Ajay Maken said though the AAP Government was claiming credit for doubling the budget for education to 106 per cent, the truth was that in actuality only 22 to 23 per cent of the budgeted amount was spent on education as according to the revised estimates, Rs 1078 crore were lapsed whereas during the Congress regime, much more was spent on education without trumpeting its achievement.

Shri Ajay Maken said the Delhi Government’s Chunauti Policy, in which students under 14 years of age are divided into groups on the basis of their purported “basic learning skill”, is discriminatory and is against the RTE  provisions, as this kind of division is likely to lead to students being labeled as “bright” and “weak”, with some capable of pursuing academic subjects while dissuading others, especially female students, to continue with their education. He said this would also harm students’ psyche and the learning environment in schools.

Shri Maken said the distortion and dilution of curriculum by the Delhi Government through Pragati books and “focused” syllabus has been done in a non-transparent  manner, without deliberating with those involved in framing the curriculum in the first place. He said while the Delhi Government has claimed that Pragati books are supplementary in nature, an official circular dated March 31, 2016 make it clear that these books completely supplanted official textbooks in the months of April and May, leaving no time to cover the official text. He said the Pragati books themselves lack coherence and under the guise of simplification have been shorn of progressive content crucial for the shaping of curious and critical minds.

Shri Maken said there was also discussion on the larger context of push towards low-cost private schools and “skilling” in which these reforms appear to be located. He said the early segregation of some students into “low expectations” track focusing on low order skills is likely to result in constraining them into low paying jobs while educating those who demonstrate promise.

Shri Maken said the Delhi Government must place in the public domain all official communication, new textbooks/supplementary material, teacher training material and expenditure details. He said the Delhi Government also appears to have contracted with many private organizations—the terms of reference along with budgetary allocations and expenditure incurred thus far also need to be put in the public domain, as this is mandated as per the proactive disclosure requirements under Section 4 of the RTI Act.

Shri Maken said though Shri Kejriwal claims to be an RTI expert, he seems to  have forgotton all about RTI after forming Government in Delhi.

AAP BUS SERVICE

Referring to the AAP Government’s announcement to start an Aam Aadmi Bus Service, Shri Maken said the Delhi Government has yet again made a reckless announcement. Shri Maken wondered how could the Delhi Government  start a new bus service with the depleted existing fleet, which was insufficient to cater even to the demands of the existing services. He said when the Congress was in power there 5445 buses under the DTC fleet,  and the number has come down to a mere 4000 buses now, and how  was it possible to start a new service without increasing the number of buses.

PEOPLE OF KOTLA MUBARAKPUR OBJECT TO THE OPENING OF A NEW LIQUOR VEND.

Shri  Maken said though there was severe shortage of water and power in Delhi, there was no shortage of liquor as ever since the AAP Government came to power, 58 new liquor vends have been opened, and the people of Kotla Mubarakpur have been protesting against the opening of a new liquor vend in their area. He said there were potholes on roads, and rains bring huge traffic jams, but the Delhi CM was least bothered about the plight of the people of Delhi, as he has set out for a 10-day meditation session in Himachal Pradesh.

·                    INLD Mehrauli district president Shri Mukesh Mehlawat and Aam Aadmi Party Assembly observer Shri Dharmendra Panwar join the Congress party

DPCC president  Shri Ajay Maken and senior leader and ex-MP Shri Sajjan Kumar today welcomed Indian National Lok Dal Mehrauli district president Shri Mukesh Mehlawat and Aam Aadmi Party Assembly observer Shri Dharmendra Panwar into the Congress party. They were enrolled into the Congress party after  Shri Ajay Maken introduced them at a press conference. Shri Maken said Shri Mukesh Mehlawat and Shri Dharmendra Panwar would be accorded due respect and  recognition in the Congress party and it was expected that they would put in hard work to strengthen the party. Mehrauli district Congress president Shri Rajesh Chouhan, Municipal Councillor Smt. Pushpa and ex-Mayor Shri Satbir were also present on the occasion.