‘Govt turning a blind eye to education’

Jyoti,age 9,is a student of Class III at an MCD-run school in a Jahangirpuri slum. Her teacher beats the girls in her class,and the food they are supposed to get as midday meals is usually packed and taken away by teachers and school staff.

There are no chairs or desks in her school,neither is there electricity on most days. The new session has started without most of the books being available to the students.

Both ends of the education spectrum came together today to protest against government policies with respect to education.

Citing government apathy as the cause of all problems faced by students of both private and government run schools,the All India Parents Association(AIPA) on Sunday staged a demonstration near the Lt. Governor’s residence asking him to look into the issues.

Nearly a thousand people marched in the bylanes of Civil Lines from the Shah Auditorium at Raj Niwas Marg,after police refused permission to protestors to gather outside the Raj Niwas itself.

The group carried placards detailing the problems faced by students,and shouted slogans demanding the resignation of Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely.

The AIPA has demanded a rollback of the fee hike until the government audits of school accounts are done according to parameters laid down by the High Court in 1998.

With regard to government schools,the AIPA has demanded that the Delhi government take over all MCD-run schools and upgrade the educational standards of all government schools.

“The standard of government-run schools should be on par with the Kendriya Vidyalayas,” said Ashok Agarwal,President of the AIPA and legal advisor to the group Social Jurist.

Protestors,meanwhile,carried placards and banners to voice their demands. A student of the Gandhi Memorial Government Boys’ school,Shahadara,said students had not received any books for this year and senior students had not received their stipend for purchasing books.

Complaints such as inferior quality of food given as midday meals,and regular abuse by teachers were on the lips of most students.

Rakesh Yadav,a parent,complained that the District Education officials refuse to register complaints and insult parents who go to talk to them.

“I went to the office of the DDE West,B Tirkey. At first I was made to run around to register an RTI request,and then the DDE insulted me. She said that I should sit in the education office myself if I really wanted all this done promptly.”

Vivek,a visually challenged student in a Delhi government school,said,“I’ve been in the same class for the last five years because there are no special educators to teach me. I just sit in a corner and listen to the teacher as best as I can,” he said.

Agarwal said that repeated requests for permission to meet the Lt. Governor had been refused.

“The Education Minister only talked to us over the phone and said that he was only free to meet us on Tuesday. He is busy with elections,” said Agarwal. A representation drafted by the AIPA was received by the security guards outside the Raj Niwas,and by a staffer sent from Lovely’s office.