CM Arvind Kejriwal dedicates 12,430 new classrooms to the children of Delhi

The whole country witnessed history be created today as the Delhi Government gave a booster dose to its education revolution. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal dedicated 12,430 new classrooms to the children of Delhi. While inaugurating the classrooms, the CM Kejriwal stated, We had planned for 11,000 classrooms, but ended up building 12,430 high-tech classrooms across 240 schools in just 3 years. This is what happens when you elect an honest government.

The man these corrupt leaders call a terrorist has built 12,430 classrooms today; he is fulfilling the dreams of Babasaheb & Bhagat Singh. These politicians can continue to call me a terrorist and I will continue terrorising their sleep by building world-class schools & hospitals for the poor. Our schools will blur the fault-lines of caste & class; children of rickshaw-pullers & labourers will sit on the same desk as those of officers & judges. We’ve built over 20,000 new classrooms in Delhi in the last 7 years.

All the state governments & the Centre together haven’t even come close to the figure. On average a school has 50 rooms; we can consider that we’ve built 250 new schools with these 12,430 classrooms. Had this country met our standard of education 75 years back, this society would’ve touched great heights. We will offer the best of help to all state governments to build schools & hospitals like us. Open offer to all parties, if you want to revolutionise education & healthcare, Delhi Government will happily loan you Manish Sisodia & Satyendar Jain.

Politicians fear good schools; if the country has good schools the politics of caste & religion would get killed. Our government school students won’t vote on caste & religion but nation-building & progress. Our schools will act as cradles of staunch Deshbhakts. Bhagat Singh gave the slogan of ‘Inquilab Zindabad’; today I give the slogan of ‘Inquilab Zindabad, Shiksha Kranti Zindabad. At the same time, Dy CM Manish Sisodia said that the Delhi Government is the only government in India to spend one fourth of its budget on education. Delhi’s government schools boast of better infrastructure than private schools today. He added that we’ve built marvellous infrastructure but it is now the duty of every student & teacher to convert these buildings into flourishing schools.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today inaugurated 12,430 new classrooms built across 240 Delhi Government Schools today. Besides the CM, Dy CM Manish Sisodia, PWD Minister Satyendar Jain as well as senior officials including the Education Secretary & Education Director were present in the inauguration ceremony organised at Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Rajokri, Delhi. Plaques of all the schools where new classrooms have been built were put up at the site. CM Arvind Kejriwal unveiled those plaques and ceremoniously broke a coconut for luck. The students of the school heartily welcomed CM Kejriwal and presented him tokens of appreciation from their end to him.

CM Arvind Kejriwal said, “The education sector of Delhi is truly being revolutionised. Splendid schools and classrooms are being built; infrastructure in Delhi’s government schools is now giving competition to the best private schools in the country, and leaving them behind with its impressive facilities. The academic results are also reflecting this revolution – with massive improvement in the number of students passing with flying colours. No one had the expectation to even think of a day when the results of government schools would surpass those of private ones. As the Education Minister stated – 3,70,000 students switched from elite private schools to Delhi’s government schools. There is no better validation for the education reform in Delhi.”

He continued, “I am elated to share that the process of creating 11,000 classrooms which was started around 3 years ago has borne the result of 12,430 classrooms being ready to be inaugurated today. The completion of this goal within merely 3 years is in itself a major wonder for the way things function in our country. We have witnessed electoral gimmicks where foundations for schools and hospitals are laid every season, but actual results are not seen – the actual construction never takes place. But in the Delhi Government, we have built these classrooms way ahead of the election season; all our work is planned and delivered before time.

I extend my heartiest congratulations to the entire population of Delhi, especially our teachers and students on this momentous occasion. Imagine what 12,430 classrooms amount to for the education sector – when a new school is built for classes up till 10th, it has about 20-50 classrooms at the maximum. If we calculate the number of schools keeping even 50 classrooms per school, it translates into the development of some 250 new schools. All these new buildings are inclusive of highly-functional laboratories, multi-purpose halls, as well as digital classrooms, supported by the latest state of the art technology for teaching.

The facilities which might not be spotted in the best private schools, are now available in Delhi’s government schools. I did a little research in which I found that in the past 7 years, the Delhi Government has built a total of 20,000 classrooms. In comparison, no other central or state governments have collectively built even close to as many classrooms throughout the country. This is a major achievement for the Delhi Government.”

The CM further stated, “Babasaheb Ambedkar saw a dream that every child  in the country, whether from a Dalit or a poor family, should be provided with quality education, regardless of their background. He had given utmost priority to education in his life. Unfortunately, it has been 75 years since independence, but that dream has not translated into reality. In most parts of the country, children hailing from poor or Dalit families do not have access to quality education. They are compelled to study in government schools which are very poor in condition, have incompetent or no teachers, and hence do not receive proper education. Such was the situation in Delhi before we formed our government.

I am more than happy that even though it comes after 75 years of independence, this dream of Babasaheb is being realised in Delhi at least. Bhagat Singh had declared that true freedom will not be attained by driving the British out of the country – that true freedom will only come when the rich kid and the poor kid are given the same level of education in the country. I am yet again elated to assert that Bhagat Singh’s dreams are being realised in Delhi’s government schools, where the children of an officer, a judge, a rickshaw driver, and a labourer are all sitting together to study at the same desk, receiving the same quality of education.”

He added, “It irks me that why couldn’t the progress that has been taking place in Delhi’s education sector over the last 7 years, take place in the 75 years since independence. Had this standard of education been made available 75 years ago, we’d be a world leader. There wouldn’t have been poverty, everyone would’ve been literate. This brings me to make an open offer for all governments and parties today.

If anyone in this country wants to revolutionise education and healthcare, we’ll happily loan you Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain. We’ve lost 75 years. There’s not much time in our hands now, we must act fast. Our goal is to not fight elections across the country for power, we’re here to change the system. We’re no Napoleon, we’re Aam Aadmis who want to work for this country. We don’t care about who gets votes. We just want corruption to end; we want people to go to good schools and get good healthcare.”

He concluded, “The biggest leaders of this country for the last few days have been singing the same song. They’re all saying Kejriwal is a terrorist. Initially I laughed at their comments. But today, I want to tell them that the man they call a terrorist is giving this country 12,430 new classrooms. It is he who has bridged the gap between the rich and poor. It is he who is fulfilling the dreams of Bhagat Singh and Babasaheb. Politicians fear nothing more than schools because they hold the power to kill their politics of caste-religion. The schools that we build do just that. Our schools are cradles of patriots.

These people say that Kejriwal is making everything free. I want to ask them if I am making best-in-class government schools in Delhi, where the children of poor are getting excellent education and if I am giving them free education, then what can be a greater act of patriotism and nation building than this? Every child should get free education. If I am giving free treatment to the poor in hospitals and building excellent government hospitals, then what can be better than this. Bhagat Singh gave the slogan of Inquilab Zindabad. Today I am giving the slogan of ‘Inquilab Zindabad, Shiksha Kranti Zindabad’.”

*Schools are not just built by constructing tall buildings and they’re built by the conviction of teachers and students: Dy CM Manish Sisodia*

Dy CM Manish Sisodia said, “Everyone knows our CM is a man of his words. He does what he says. But today, he has surpassed that too. He is delivering more than what he had promised. There used to be a saying that even if 90% of a government project gets completed then it should be considered an achievement. We’ve changed that notion.

When we laid the foundation stone for this project, our officers had planned for 11,000 classrooms. We ended up building 12,430 classrooms. This is what happens when you have an honest intent and commitment for development. Everything said and done, schools are not just built by constructing tall buildings and they’re built by the conviction of teachers and students. We’ve built marvellous infrastructure, developed the best curriculum out there, but it is now the duty of every child and every teacher to convert these buildings into schools.”

He continued, “When the CM had entrusted me with the responsibility of the Education Department, I went on a visit to our school in Narela. I met a bright child and told him that ‘you are the future of this country, you must work hard’. What he replied back shook me to my core, he said that ‘the future of this country goes to private schools, we are here just for the sake of it’.

He said this because he used to study in a school without a permanent roof. I am sure, today when he and his friends see what we’ve done in Delhi, they’d be proud of us. I am sure they’d all have the confidence that their government stands with them and believes they’re the future of the country. To every child of Delhi, I’d like to say, your CM, your Education Minister and the whole government is here for you and won’t let you face any problem in your studies. We often talk of an India of the 21st century. Today we have to compete with the whole world in the era of global technology. We have to keep the level of education of our children so high that they can compete at a global stage. But to think that till 2015, teachers were forced to teach in tent schools.

We used to think that we were preparing the future of the country in those tents. Therefore, with great hard work, the budget of education in Delhi was doubled under the guidance of CM Arvind Kejriwal and for the last seven consecutive years, the Delhi Government is the only government in the country, which spends 25 percent of its total budget on education. Today, our children have cleared the IIT and NEET exams, which is a significant accomplishment. We must establish more such schools throughout the country where the children coming from poor families can crack IIT, AIIMS, IIM and go abroad to study.”

He concluded, “We’ve also transformed how we teach in schools. We’ve even changed our perceptions. Today lakhs of children of Delhi are studying in these schools with the resolve that in future we will not be job seekers but job givers. There is unemployment and poverty that cause problems in the advancement of the country’s economy. If this is to be corrected, the thinking of our children studying in these schools should be so brilliant that if they do not get a job, they do not wander around asking for a job.

But instead become job-givers. The schools that have been inaugurated now have smart classes, and they are gradually transitioning to digital classrooms as well. I’m working on it personally. We announced in the previous budget that we will gradually convert all of our classrooms into modern digital classrooms over the next four to five years. Children will be able to study digitally for the first time in India. Today, Delhi has the world’s most modern classrooms.

I call upon our teachers — the best classroom in the world is now in your hands. Make the children in your care the best citizens of the world. We’ve started the Business Blasters programme to help with this. Our teachers must accept responsibility for ensuring that none of our children leave school believing that they just want a good job. Every one of our children must grow up to be a good citizen, and it is the teachers’ responsibility to ensure that this happens. Our Delhi government schools are now better than private schools. So far, 3.70 lakh children have left from large private schools to join Delhi Government schools. Their parents are also proud that our children’s futures are being nurtured in such wonderful ways in these schools.”

At the same time, PWD Minister  Satyendar Jain tweeted, “Today Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated 12,430 state-of-the-art new classrooms across 240 government schools of Delhi at a event held at SKV Rajokri. With the development of modern infrastructure, a new image of government schools will emerge and a revolutionary change will be seen in the education system of Delhi.”

About three years ago, the Kejriwal Government had promised the construction of 11,000 new classrooms across Delhi. Despite the difficulties of the pandemic, the government did not only meet its targets, but also crossed them by building a total of 12,430 classrooms. The new school buildings boast designer desks in every classroom, state-of-the-art laboratories, spacious libraries, staff rooms with modern facilities, multipurpose halls for large scale events and provisions of lifts/ramps to make the buildings differently-abled friendly.

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