"140 students in single class, no books, uniforms": Adv Ashok Aggarwal on "reality" of Delhi schools
Apr 27, 2024
New Delhi [India], April 27 : A day after Delhi High Court slammed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) over the non-supply of textbooks in Government schools, advocate and petitioner Ashok Aggarwal who raised the issue stated that the portrayal of schools run by the AAP in its advertisements is clearly different from the actual conditions on the ground.
According to Aggarwal, despite claims of running world-class institutions, the reality in Delhi schools is vastly different. He described overcrowded classrooms with up to 140 students in a single class and inadequate facilities such as the lack of water supply.
"The Delhi government deserved to be lashed out. The advertisements conducted by them show that they run world-class institutions, however, the reality is entirely different. I have seen several schools of the Delhi government and of MCD; I saw 140 students in one class in Delhi...so as three sections sitting together in one class...no water facility and the same condition I witnessed in MCD schools as well," Aggarwal said.
Aggarwal claimed that around 8 lakh students study under the MCD and none of them have received textbooks, notebooks and uniforms.
"The issue is that 8 lakh students study at MCD, under the Right to Education Act, students are entitled to receive textbooks, notebooks, writing materials and uniforms. Out of 8 lakh, not even a single student has received any of it. Similarly, 10 lakh students from standard 1 to 8 who come under the Right to Education Act, are under the Delhi government. They have now received notebooks after the High Court lambasted them (Delhi government and MCD), however, none of the students have got books," he said.
The Delhi High Court on Friday came down heavily on Kejriwal and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) over the non-supply of textbooks to 2 lakh students.
The bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan also comprising Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora showed displeasure with the Aam Aadmi Party-led MCD and said the Delhi Chief Minister has put personal interest over national interest by not resigning despite his arrest.
The court also slammed urban development Minister of Delhi Saurabh Bharadwaj and said that the AAP leader has turned a blind eye to the plight of students.
"This is arrogance of power at its highest," added the court.
