New Delhi: Neither the BJP nor the Congress talked about education during their respective tenures in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday, while asserting that his government's politics is all about providing education to children. He made the remarks at the inauguration of a new building of a government school for girls in west Delhi's Uttam Nagar.
"This school was established in 1985. The governments of (BJP and Congress) came to power. But education was not on their agenda. "Neither the BJP nor the Congress spoke about providing education. But our politics is all about providing education to children," he said. Kejriwal said his government is just the "means to educate children", adding "Probably, God was waiting for the AAP to come to power and improve the condition of schools".
"Earlier, girls used to feel that they were going to government schools while their brothers studied in private schools. But now the government schools in Delhi are providing good education. Some more government buildings are left to be renovated," he said.
Speaking about the challenges ahead, Kejriwal said since the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is in power in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), it wants to improve the condition of 1,800 schools of the civic body. "We want that the students get good education from class 1 onwards. We will also improve the MCD schools in the next five years," he added.
The chief minister also opined that the biggest challenge is to not find any employment after completing one's education. "If one does not get a job after completing education, there is no use of this education. We have to focus on each and every student of classes 11 and 12, and we are preparing them to do business through the Business Blasters initiative," he said.
Hours after the inauguration, Education Minister Atishi held a press conference and took a dig at Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena for not attending the event despite being invited. Her comments also come in the backdrop of sloganeering at the inaugural event of the newly built campus of Indraprastha University in east Delhi last week where Kejriwal and Saxena were both present.
"L-G Saxena did not show up today. We waited for quite some time. The inauguration ensued peacefully and there was no issue. I do not know why he did not turn up. "There is another event in two weeks where a school will be inaugurated. We will send details to LG sir and he is welcome to take credit," Atishi said at the press conference. There was no immediate reaction from the LG office to her claims.
