A sustained higher budgetary allocation to education sector has largely been devoted to meet the needs of core segments mainly the strengthening of ailing school infrastructure, revamping teacher-training system and students learning programmes.
Once again, the government schools in Delhi are in the national limelight. As per the results released by CBSE on 13 July, the state-run schools in Delhi have posted their best ever pass percentage of 98% in Class XII. This is fifth year in a row that the government schools have much better pass percentage than the private schools. The pass percentage this year is nearly six percent more than the previous year. Applauding the students for their performance, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal stated that the national capital’s education model has made history. To quote him “The private schools in Delhi have achieved 92.2% results, and government schools have received 97.92%, which is the highest among the government schools in the entire country. Examinations were conducted in a total of 916 schools of the Delhi government, out of which 396 schools have received 100% results.”
There is no denying of the visible transformation in once neglected government school system in the national capital. In fact, one the key reasons for AAP’s back to back landslide victory in 2020 assembly elections was its splendid performance in improving the government school system. As we had analysed earlier, with a catchy slogan of ‘education first’ the AAP led government between 2015-2020 had infused fresh bouts of energy into a moribund education system, especially the government run schools in Delhi. The AAP government under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia who has been holding education portfolio since 2015 has allotted maximum funds to education, introduced new teacher training courses for students and had allocated generous resources to improve ailing schooling infrastructure. Here is a quick stock taking of some of the major reform initiatives adopted by the AAP to bring visible transformation in once laggard government schools in the capital.
After it won an electoral landslide in 2015, the AAP government made education and revamping of government schools a priority area of its deliverables. The AAP government allocated a sizeable chunk of state budget for introducing changes in school education system. For instance, in 2015-16, the government earmarked as much as Rs 6,208 crores for the school and higher education sector. In the 2016-17, the AAP government further increased education sector spending to Rs 8,642 crore (budgeted). In 2017-18, the AAP government spent as much as Rs 9,888 crores and in 2018-19 it went up to Rs 11,201 crores. Whereas in 2020-21, the budgetary allocation was significantly higher Rs. 15, 815 crores (24% higher than the previous financial year).
Source: PRS Legislative Research and Delhi governmentA sustained higher budgetary allocation to education sector has largely been devoted to meet the needs of core segments mainly the strengthening of ailing school infrastructure, revamping teacher-training system and students learning programmes. It may be noted that when the AAP government came to power in 2015, the conditions of most government schools in Delhi were in a dire strait, with more and more parents particularly from socially and economically poorer backgrounds sending their children to private schools with heavy financial burdens. This is where the AAP government pitched its support to bring a turnaround quickly. Atishi Marlena, a Rhodes scholar (who recently became a member of legislative assembly) and worked as advisor to Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi played a decisive role in transforming school education system in Delhi.
The AAP government took several significant decisions in quick successions to bring the transformation. For instance, apart from allocating sizeable amount of financial resources, Delhi Directorate of Education constructed as many as 21 new school buildings with modern facilities and 8,000 equivalent new classrooms have been added at the same time. Further, the government schools were extended required financial assistance to have labs with modern facilities, SMART classrooms and e-modules to make learning attractive. Notably, to provide a major facelift to classroom experience, the AAP government introduced happiness curriculum with an array of innovative classroom learning tools. Importantly, the AAP government took the crucial initiative of creating a 3-tier library structure in the schools. In addition, government schools were provided drinking water facilities and girls and boys toilets, electricity connection and as much as 90% were provided with computer facilities.
This apart, another significant intervention made by the AAP government was with regard to teachers’ training. Delhi government in 2017 started a one-of-a-kind teacher training exercise across the city. The State Council for Education Research & Training (SCERT) undertook an extensive capacity building exercise for more than 36,000 teachers — 26,000 Trained Graduate Teachers (TGTs) and 10,000 Post Graduate Teachers (PGTs), who were teaching in schools run by the Delhi government.
Another noteworthy initiative by the AAP government to improve the quality of education in Delhi government schools was the introduction of Teacher’s Training Programme. The motive behind the programme is to keep the teachers abreast with the contemporary knowledge of their subject. In 2018, 200 teachers received training by world’s top educators — National Institute of Education (NIE). These 200 teachers, after the completion of the course, were regarded as ‘mentor teachers.’ The trained teachers were assigned around five to six schools to observe classroom practices and provide on-site learning support to the needy teachers.
Additionally, the AAP government also took a series of small but beneficial steps to improve students’ learning outcomes. With surveys indicating a record number of students unable to read and comprehend basic concepts at various classes and age groups, the government launched an ambitious project named ‘Chunauti’ in 2016 with the aim of seeking to check student dropout rates and improve the quality of education with special focus on the weakest students. The aim was to have all students in upper primary classes be able to read, write and do basic mathematics. It has been reported that Chunauti has brought visible improvement in the pass percentage of class IX. Similarly, class XI results made impressive improvement in pass percentage. While the pass percentage was 71% in 2017-2018, it reached 80% in 2018-19. According to a Praja Foundation report, class 12 results have has also shown consistent improvement since the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in 2015. Overall, the AAP government’s well thought out efforts has brought school education onto the center stage and the recent Class XII results of the government schools are a further testimony of this.
Doubtless, the AAP government has done everything at its disposal to change the perception on government run schools. But it has mostly done so by infusing more funds and plucking low hanging fruits such as improvement in school infrastructure, class room environment among others. Many longstanding and structural challenges remain to be addressed. For instance, despite all the efforts, the enrolment rate in Delhi state school has fallen. According to the Praja Foundation report, State of Public (School) Education in Delhi, published in March 2019, enrolment rate in Delhi government schools has fallen by 8% from 2013-14 to 2017-18. In government schools, enrolment rate for Class I saw a dip of 4.8% in 2017-18. Another survey by Praja Foundation shows that 2,59,705 students who got enrolled for class IX in Delhi government schools in 2014-15, 56% students did not reach class XII in 2017-18. This indicates very poor retention in the state-run schools.
Pointing holes in other critical aspects of school education, another report found that Delhi government schools are operating with only 57% regular teachers while rest of the responsibility is with guest teachers. A huge gap persists in the sanctioned and filled positions, both among the teaching and non-teaching staff in Delhi government schools. According to information made available to the public through RTI applications, it can be said that out of 1,029 schools only 301 schools across Delhi have science as a subject.
The Praja Foundation report again found that Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) results in state government schools shows that maximum percent of students in standards VI, VII and VIII fall in and below Grade C - 78%, 80% and 78% respectively. This is a reflection of poor learning outcomes as reflected in the high percentage of students failing in class IX. The same conclusion possibly drawn for the recent Class XII results. While the pass percentage is certainly very high and praiseworthy, one has to wait and see the fine print in terms of Grades and socio-economic backgrounds of students to arrive at their learning achievements and excellence.
These limitations notwithstanding, the AAP government’s continued efforts and commitment to transform the very forgotten state-run school system in the national capital deserves to be applauded. The clearest indication of this is the substantial hike for education in recent state budget that has many new components to accelerate the pace. What is more noteworthy is the education system of Delhi is increasingly being adopted by other Indian states. However, the major challenges still remain to be addressed. While the government has revamped the school infrastructure, it has failed to recruit many permanent teachers. It introduced new programmes, but enrolment rate witnessed a fall. Hopefully the latest CBSE results and the AAP government’s new working relationship with the Union government would help it set new benchmarks on government school education. In short, the AAP’s claim of ‘revolutionising’ school education remains a work in progress.
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Niranjan Sahoo, PhD, is a Senior Fellow with ORF’s Governance and Politics Initiative. With years of expertise in governance and public policy, he now anchors ...
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