In full page ad, AAP government attacks Centre over stalling its bills

New Delhi: The AAP government in Delhi in its second full-page advertisement attacked the Central government for not clearing its 14 bills, including one aimed at abolishing the 'no detention policy' and improving the standard of education in government schools.

In the advertisement, Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sosidia said that even after six months the central government has not given its consent to 'The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2015 (Delhi Amendment) Bill 2015' which was passed by the Delhi Assembly in December 2015.

“It is putting the future of lakhs of students at stake. We sincerely request the central government to clear this bill at the earliest,” the advertisement says.
The advertisement says that the Centre has withheld approvals to 14 such bills of public interest passed by the Delhi Assembly.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2015 (Delhi Amendment) Bill 2015 says that exams will be compulsory for all classes (Class 1 to 8). Students who fail to clear the exams will be detained in the same class and will have to repeat the year.

According to the Right to Education Act, no student can be detained in the same class upon failing in exams until Class 8.

“Many students do not take exams seriously till Class 8. When they enter Class 9 they are suddenly confronted with exams, which many fail to clear,” says the advertisement. 

“Last year over 50 per cent students failed to clear the Class 9 examination. Depressed some students even commit suicide,” Sisodia went on to say in the advertisement.

The advertisement says despite all problems, Delhi government is doing very good work as it provided cheap power, free water, Mohalla clinics, free medicines, highest ever compensations for land acquisition and agriculture produce respectively and it also improved education sector in the city. 

“They kept troubling us, we kept working,” the ad says, targetting the Central government.

Sisodia last month had announced a school education reform programme titled -- “Chunauti 2018” -- to enable students studying in government schools, especially Class 9, to overcome the adverse effects of the “no detention policy”.

The idea behind 'Chunauti 2018' is that by the year 2018, all students enrolled in Class 9 in the academic year 2016-2017, regardless of their learning levels at this point, will be trained and mentored to successfully appear for Class 10 examinations in 2018.

Earlier last week the AAP government, in a full page advertisement, attacked the Central government for stopping its development works.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) says the Arvind Kejriwal government is guilty of not seeking prior approval for the bills passed in the Vidhan Sabha and was misleading the people by issuing such ads.

BJP legislator and leader of opposition in Delhi assembly, Vijender Gupta on Wednesday wrote a letter to Sisodia asking, “Why is he misleading Delhiites by issuing such full page advertisements?”

“In place of straightaway passing the Bills in the assembly, it should seek prior approval of Lt Governor to avoid delay in approval,” Gupta said.