Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia launched a frontal attack against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over their policy of reducing the education budgets both at the Centre and in other BJP-ruled States, saying that the Delhi Government's budget on education is 26 per cent which is highest not only in India but in Asian Countries also.
Comparing BJP and AAP model of education, he said that budget allocation on education in States like Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab is reduced by 2, 3 and 4 per cent respectively. While in Delhi the budget allocation was increased by 10 per cent.
Quoting the data compiled by UNESCO Institute for Statistics (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), he said three countries have allocated highest budget towards education- Bhutan (24.04), Uzbekistan (23.03) and Malaysia (21.7 per cent). "The AAP Government is the first to spend 26 per cent on education.
"The AAP Government has made a huge effort to raise the standards of the capital city India in the domains of finance, delivery and results. The basic principle driving this growth is the investment in education. We believe that investments made in the educational sector are of utmost importance for the future of the nation," he said.
Presenting two models of education, he said according to Department of Finance (Delhi Government), and RBI (Reserve Bank of India) study of state finances report 2019 in 2013-14; the quantum allocated to education in Delhi amounted to 16.6 per cent of the budget, whereas it has risen to 26 per cent of the total state budget. In the same period, in Haryana, only 15.4 per cent was allocated to education for the corresponding period and it was reduced to 13 per cent.
"In the case of Uttar Pradesh, the budget allocated has been slashed from 16 per cent to a mere 13.4 per cent In Punjab, the budget has been decreased from 14.2 per cent to 10.3 per cent," he said.
Sisodia said that these figures manifest BJP's mind-set and the youth of this country can no longer be swayed by the empty promises of the Government. This deliberate attempt by the BJP Government to reduce outlays for education is to ensure that our youth remains uneducated and powerless to aspire to a good future," he said.
He also challenged the BJP to participate in the upcoming Delhi elections based on providing quality education, thereby presenting their model for education. "I heard recently that the Central Government faced a deficit in tax collection, following which; it was decided to reduce education budget. An amount of 3,000 crores is being cut by the Central Government. How does the Government plan on increasing the budget from 10 to 20 per cent, he asked?
