AAP schemes a model for India: Manish Sisodia

NEW DELHI: Delhi government’s innovation in education and healthcare are a model for the country, said Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in his keynote address at Harvard University during the annual India Conference on Sunday.

He said that the model has proved to be successful and can serve the entire country’s needs in education and healthcare.

“Policy making is not rocket science, it requires honest intent to find creative solutions. That is what chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s government has done in three years in Delhi. This change is not just needed in Delhi but throughout the country. Everyone had come to believe that such change is not possible; that government schools and healthcare will always be poor. But Delhi has shown that change is possible. We hope other states will follow,” he said.

He also claimed that Delhi is a victim of “step- motherly treatment” by the Centre and said that the federal government is confused if it should treat Delhi as a Union territory or as a state. The minister added that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is providing “world class facilities” to 95 per cent population that cannot access expensive private facilities.

He said that while India has created several public institutions like the IITs, IIMs, and AIIMS that produce professionals of high calibre, all these institutes currently cater to one to five per cent of the population. “For the rest of the 95 per cent, the system has completely collapsed. The situation is similar for healthcare as well,” he said. He showed the audience old pictures of dilapidated government schools, followed by pictures of Delhi government’s newly constructed and renovated schools.

He said, “In the first year we concentrated on improving the infrastructure of schools. Delhi government schools now have smart classrooms and air-conditioned assembly halls.”