BJP demands LG disband SMCs, AAP says it's a 'conspiracy' to derail education reforms

The BJP Monday demanded Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal disband management committees in government schools, alleging the ruling AAP was using them for "political" gains in Assembly polls, which are due early next year.

Leader of Opposition and former Delhi BJP president Vijdender Gupta claimed that SMCs were operating "illegally" beyond their term.

The ruling AAP rejected the charge, saying those seeking dissolution of SMCs wanted to "derail" education reforms being carried out by the Delhi government.

Gupta, however, said in a press conference that SMCs have become a "hub" of AAP politics and the Lt Governor should dissolve them.

"AAP workers, councilors, office-bearers, MLAs are members of these SMCs. They are politicising the schools and the kids studying there. Their entry in schools should be banned," he said.

A controversy erupted recently over the SMCs, with the BJP charging that they were being used to seek votes for the AAP by convening a parents' meet.

The education department postponed the meeting after a Delhi BJP delegation, led by its president Manoj Tiwari, met Baijal.

Senior AAP leader Atishi said seeking dissolution of the SMCs is a "conspiracy" to "derail" the education reforms being pursued by the Delhi government and appreciated all over the world.

"They feel threatened because municipal schools (run by BJP-ruled corporations) are in a shambles and nearly 75 percent children passing out from them cannot read basic Hindi text," she claimed.

Gupta said the SMCs were constituted in 2015 and their two-year tenure ended in 2017. They are "illegal" as they have not been re-constituted, he stated.

Atishi countered the claim, saying the current SMCs were set up in 2017-end for 2 years after terms of previous SMCs ended in September 2017, Atishi said.

"The current SMCs were democratically elected in 2017 by means of free and fair elections which witnessed large participation from the parents of the students of Delhi government schools," she said.

Every School Management Committee has 16 members including the principal, one teacher, 12 elected parents, one social worker and the elected representative (MLA or councillor).

The 12 parents' representatives are duly elected by the general body of parents of students in a school. These are socially diverse in terms of representation of parents from different castes and at least half of the members (eight) are women, she added.