New Delhi: Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia said on Wednesday that he would want 20 per cent of the Delhi Budget to be allocated for education.
Manish Sisodia said, “It’s what I would want. I am not saying that the government will do it. But I would want to extend the Budget for education to 20 per cent.”
In the Delhi government’s 2013-14 Budget, funds allocated to education were 5.89 (Rs 1,901 crore) per cent of the total budget of Rs 32,260 crore.
Notify that increased spending on education is one among the AAP’s 70-point action plan for Delhi.
Sisodia had met education department officials on February 15 to take this plan forward.
Sisodia said, “We want to bring in maximum transparency in the field of education. Appoint teachers in government schools and offer loans and scholarships to students from low-income families. In some cases, schools ask EWS students to pay the fees first and reimburse them later. When they are entitled to a scholarship, why should they be asked to pay first? If they were in a position to pay, why would they need the scholarship? We will have to reverse this practice.”
The AAP’s promises include setting up 500 new government schools, a higher education guarantee scheme, 20 new degree colleges, regulation of private school fees, bringing about transparency in school admissions and revamping government schools to provide quality education.
Sisodia also said that in the last one year that Delhi was under president’s rule, its revenue generation had taken a big hit.
Sisodia said, “Revenue collection has been down since April 2014. There was no accountability. Excise collections have gone up and we have already started carrying out raids. If we can stop malpractices in the department, revenue generation is sure to increase. We will weed out corruption.”
Bureau Report
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