In a decision with immense significance for the education system in the national capital, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced that Delhi will soon have its own state education board, which will aim to groom children to grow up to be patriotic, empathetic and self-reliant.
The Delhi Cabinet gave its approval to the setting up of the Delhi Board of School Education, Kejriwal announced in a press conference.
He said that after his government has taken a series of initiatives to transform the schools run by it, the next logical step was to decide what is taught in the schools and how. He said the Delhi Board of School Education will aim to make children grow up into staunch patriots. “Our children are the future of this country. In every area, they should be able to take the responsibility of the country, be it science or technology or business or politics or social work.”
He said another aim of the Board would be to groom the children into empathetic human beings who are not only committed to their families but also to the society and the people around them and are able to help others without being concerned about the divides of religion or caste or rich and poor.
He said the Board would also address the problem of children being unable to find employment despite getting big degrees by inculcating in them the capacity to be self-reliant. He said there will be focus on personality development. “So far, the focus of our education system has been on learning by rote. Now, the focus will be on understanding. Assessments will be conducted all through the year and not just at the end of the year,” Kejriwal said.
He said the Board will incorporate international practices and will seek suggestions from international institutions. To begin with, around 20-25 government schools will be brought within the ambit of the new Board, and their affiliation with the CBSE will be discontinued. At present, around 1,000 government schools and most of the about 1,700 private schools are affiliated to the CBSE.
“We hope that in the next four to five years, all government and private schools will join the board voluntarily,” Kejriwal said.
The Board will have a governing body, which will be headed by the Deputy Chief Minister, and an executive body, which will be headed by the CEO. It will include experts from the field of education, industry representatives, principals of government and private schools and bureaucrats.
“We worked in the NGO sector before we came into politics, and we could see that the education system was flawed and polluted. We have brought in many changes in the last six years, and the education board is the next step in the series of changes,” Kejriwal said.
