No desks for students in some Gujarat schools, toilets broken: Sisodia ahead of PM Modi's visit

 New Delhi: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday sought to draw Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attention to the condition of some schools in Gujarat, saying during a visit, he found that toilets were broken and students did not have any desks.

The senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader also shared on Twitter pictures from his visit to these schools that showed children sitting on the floor of classrooms. Sisodia had visited two state-run schools in Bhavnagar, the Assembly constituency and hometown of Gujarat Education Minister Jitu Vaghani, last week.

The deputy chief minister’s tweet came in response to one by Modi in which he stated that he will be visiting the Vidya Samiksha Kendra in Gujarat on Monday.

”Upon reaching Gujarat tomorrow, I will visit the Vidya Samiksha Kendra. This modern centre leverages data and technology in order to improve learning outcomes. I will also interact with those who are working in the education sector,” Modi had said in a series of tweets on Sunday, sharing details of his three-day visit to Gujarat.

Replying to Modi’s tweet, Sisodia said, ”Prime Minister! You may not see from the modern centre of Vidya Samiksha Kendra the picture of these schools, where there is no desk to sit, there are cobwebs like those in closed junkyards, toilets are broken… I have personally seen such schools in the constituency of the education minister of Gujarat.” After his visit to the Bhavnagar schools, Sisodia had claimed they were in a bad shape and guest teachers were managing them on a salary that is renewed every month.

Seeking to highlight the Delhi model of education during his visit ahead of the Gujarat Assembly polls, he had said the ruling BJP had done little to improve the condition of government-run schools despite being at the helm for the last 27 years.

Two days after returning from Gujarat, Sisodia wrote to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel and Vaghani asking them to keep political differences aside and visit Delhi’s government schools to witness the AAP’s model of governance.

After its stupendous victory in the Punjab polls, the AAP is gearing up to contest all 182 seats in the Gujarat Assembly elections by presenting itself as a viable alternative to both BJP and Congress.

To woo the voters, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party is showcasing changes it has brought in the education sector in Delhi and promising to replicate them in Gujarat, the home state of Modi and a BJP bastion, where elections are due in December this year.