Former Delhi Education Minister and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia on Thursday said a teacher’s salary should be more than that of an IAS officer if India wants to evolve into a developed country by 2047. Meanwhile the Delhi BJP criticised the AAP for politicising the event by inviting former Deputy Chief Minister as a chief guest.

He made the remarks while addressing a ‘Shikshak Samman Samaroh,’ organised by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on the occasion of Teachers’ Day where 90 teachers were honored at Kedarnath Sahani Auditorium in Civic Center

“Today, there is a lot of talk about India of 2047. The teachers who are sitting here today, the children you have with you are very important for 2047. The India of 2047 depends on these children. But even policy makers have to do something for them,” Sisodia said.

Citing examples of Germany, Switzerland and a few other countries, he said, “In most developed countries, the salary of teachers is more than the bureaucrats there. A teacher with five years of experience draws more salary than an IAS officer with five years of posting.”

 Talking about his incarceration in Tihar jail for 17 months in an excise policy-linked money laundering case, Sisodia said he spent eight to 10 hours every day reading books and learning about the education system of different countries.

“The last 1.5 years I was in difficult circumstances of my life. When we are in difficult circumstances, the lessons learnt by teachers are most useful. I studied a lot during this time. I used to read books for eight to 10 hours. Most of all, I read about education, India’s education system, the world’s education system,” he said. Mayor Dr. Shelly Oberoi said that our intention is to bring an education revolution in corporation schools on the lines of the Delhi government. “ The dream of former Education Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia was that corporation schools should also be on the lines of Delhi government schools. We sent the principals of corporation schools to prestigious institutes like IIM for training. Now we will send principals and teachers abroad for training, for which we have also passed a resolution from the House,” she said.

Meanwhile the Delhi BJP Spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor strongly condemned the AAP for politicizing the event by inviting Sisodia as the chief guest and accused AAP for breaking the sanctity of Teacher’s Day.

“Traditionally, the Education Minister in office, the Mayor, or some other high-ranking dignitary has graced the Teacher’s Day ceremony of the Delhi Municipal Corporation as the Chief Guest. In 2023 as well, Education Minister Atishi was the Chief Guest of the Municipal Corporation’s program,” Kapoor claimed.

“However, it is regrettable that this year, the Mayor politicized the Teacher’s Day event by appointing AAP leader Manish Sisodia as the Chief Guest for the Delhi Municipal Corporation’s Teacher’s Day event,” he alleged.

The Delhi BJP Spokesperson remarked that this is the first time in 47 years, since 1977, that Teacher’s Day is being misused for political purposes in such a manner.