Manish Sisodia, the Education Minister of Delhi, announced on July 24, 2019 that the famous mathematician, Anand Kumar will be teaching IIT-JEE aspirants of Delhi government schools. Kumar is the inspiration behind Super 30, a Bollywood movie starring Hritik Roshan.
Kumar confirmed the news stating that he has agreed to teach the students of Classes 11-12 through online classes. One class will be held every month and the students will be taught via virtual medium. He said that this will be a golden opportunity for the aspirants of IIT.
Showering praises about the government schools, Anand reinstated that Delhi schools now have modern facilities and are completely at par with private schools.
The Delhi government is a firm believer of the fact that investing in education and healthcare is of foremost importance as it is the only way to create a better future and give golden wings to the youth. As per a report, since the coming of the Delhi government, the condition of its government schools has improved significantly. To actualize their ideas regarding the education sector, an amount of ₹13,997 crore has been allocated for the education sector in the Fiscal Budget of 2018-2019. This accounts for 26% of the total budget.
Current Situation vs Past Situation
Current situation of Government schools in Delhi is much better than before. As per the previous records, the schools witnessed absenteeism in case of both students and teachers. The school infrastructure was a major reason for this. Broken chairs, open corridors, unhygienic washrooms, unmaintained school grounds and non-functional computers in Labs were common in the so-called model schools of Delhi government.
Recently 20 new classrooms have been constructed in Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Shadi Khampur, Patel Nagar. Among the other things that have improved with the initiatives taken by the Delhi government is infrastructure of schools. Improvement in infrastructure hasn’t been limited to classrooms only. Gyms, libraries and swimming pools have been opened too.
In order to strengthen work ethics in government school teachers, the government sent them for training to Harvard’s, Cambridge and Singapore. Also, they organized two-month long campaigns to help those students who couldn’t read properly earlier. CCTV cameras have been installed in each classroom which allow the parents to keep a check on their children.
Another creative initiative is “Happiness Curriculum”. This includes starting activities such as meditation, storytelling and value education sessions for students between class I to VII.
In the current year, the private schools of the city lagged behind government schools as the pass percentage reached 90.64 per cent which is a big jump from 85.98 last year.
Expected Impact
The introduction of such policies and their efficient application can serve as a great boon for both students and parents. This can lead to increased levels of literacy rates which will help students to grab better employment opportunities.
By working towards improving the quality of education being delivered, the Delhi government has taken the first step towards setting the capital city as an example for the other states.
Besides the efforts of government, people like Anand Kumar can help to improve the condition of government schools in Delhi and elsewhere.