Lack Of Space Hindrance In Opening More 'Specialised Excellence' Schools: Manish Sisodia

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday stated that their government wishes to expand its Specialised Excellence schools in all zones but facing an issue of space.

Delhi Dy CM Manish Sisodia speaks during a PTM (Parents Teacher Meeting) at a government school in east Delhi.

Source : PTI

The Delhi government wishes to expand its Specialised Excellence schools in all zones of the capital, however, there is an issue of space, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Saturday, during a visit to one of the schools. Sisodia was interacting with students of DR B R Ambedkar School of Specialised Excellence at Surajmal Vihar, one of the five he visited in the day.

Dr. B R Ambedkar Schools of Specialised Excellence are choice-based schools for Classes 9 to 12 that allow students to specialise in their chosen fields of study. Currently, there are 46 schools of specialised excellence in the national capital.

"Here, we have skill-based learning. We have collaborated with the IB board and This is the first of its kind initiative done by us. Learning is important. We have no pressure of studies here. Students are here to get exposure in all subjects," Sisodia said.

"We want these specialised schools in all zones but we are facing the problem of space," he added.

The minister said that the government is collecting data on students to move forward with its plan to increase the number of specialised schools.

"We have taken data from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and doing a mapping of how many students are from which zone. We have data on students when they come to our schools in Class 6. We have data on which schools’ students have their basics clear and which schools we should work from the scratch," he added.

Over a thousand Delhi government schools hosted parent-teacher meetings -- Mega PTM, as the government called the initiative -- on Saturday to motivate parents to become active participants in the learning journey of their children.

In his interactions with several parents, Sisodia, who is also the city's education minister, said the children in the national capital deserve a world-class education. "There is no dearth of talent among these students and it is the responsibility of the government to carve their talent better by providing facilities," he said.

"Initiatives of the government like Mega PTM bring together all stakeholders of the education system such as parents, children, and teachers together and help them strategize better for the future," he added. The Deputy Chief Minister also shared the approved designs of schools with the students and took their feedback.

Sisodia said that building a Delhi Education Model and developing schools have always been the priority of his party’s government and this is the reason why schools here are giving tough competition to private schools.

"I am grateful to the parents of Delhi for trusting the government led by CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal," he said, adding that over the past few years Delhi's education model has been appreciated all over the world.

He cited the "improved" infrastructure and also the national and international-level training given to the teachers for the academic performance at these schools.

It is now the turn of MCD schools and the work to improve them has already started, Sisodia said. A parent in Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, East Vinod Nagar, told the minister that he had never expected the school to look like a private school when he first visited it.

"Teachers have set the bar of education high in the schools which makes students think out of the box and work hard for their brighter future.

"Over the years, we have witnessed a great amount of change in the pedagogy styles in the schools. We feel proud that our children are students of Delhi government schools," the parent said. Sisodia also asked the students about their experience in the school.

"We have the best choice of subjects here. This makes it different from other schools," said Rinky, a Class 9 student Another student who was in a private school before joining the school of specialised excellence talked about the difference she felt in both schools.

"Here we are not marked based on one exam. We are accessed throughout the year and we are getting exposure in all aspects," Arya, a Class 9 student, said. Sisodia requested the parents to regularly attend the parent-teacher meetings to get the feedback of their wards.

"I take your feedback as an opportunity to improve further. I request that both parents should come and take the feedback from teachers and make this PTM successful," he said. 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)