Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia hit out at Union Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday for "writing" to L-G Anil Baijal to "cancel a parent-teacher meeting" in Delhi government schools, saying he should be "ashamed" for it.
Hitting back, Vardhan said that he doesn't need a certificate from Sisodia as the education sector knew him well and forwarding people's representations to the authorities concerned was his responsibility.
According to reports, Vardhan has written to Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal over a parent-teacher meeting scheduled in Delhi government schools on January 4.
While interacting with reporters, Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, claimed that parent-teacher meetings were one of the major reasons behind the "remarkable transformation" in Delhi's government schools.
"I am angry and saddened to see BJP's mindset to stop the PTMs of Delhi. Harsh Vardhan ji, how did you get the courage to write a letter to the L-G to cancel parent-teacher meeting of Delhi government schools. You should be ashamed," he said, adding the meeting will take place and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would not let the BJP cancel it.
"You (BJP) think you can stop it. It is the decision of the education department of the Delhi government; you would not be able to stop it. The basic character of the BJP, which is against education, gets shown again and again," the deputy chief minister said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too took to Twitter to express his dismay over the issue.
"Why do these people want to cancel PTM? In PTM, parents get an opportunity to discuss their children's progress with teachers. Many parents wait for PTM eagerly. PTM will be on time. I will also go to one of the schools tomorrow to get parents' feedback," he tweeted in Hindi.
Reacting to Sisodia's remarks, Vardhan said, "We believe in working sincerely and do not need the certificate of Sisodia. I have been an education minister in Delhi and the education sector knows me well."
Training his guns at the AAP, he further said the ruling party in Delhi has already become "frustrated as it knows the fate it will suffer in the coming times and more such statements will come from its leaders over the next one month".
He clarified that the teachers associations' of Delhi government schools had met him at his residence on Wednesday and gave him a copy of a representation which they had submitted to the Delhi L-G expressing concern over the parent-teacher meeting scheduled on January 4 when schools in most northern states have been closed due to the cold weather.
They are seeking postponement of the meeting in view of the health hazards that the children are likely to suffer due to severe cold weather, Vardhan said.
"I forwarded their representation to LG requesting him to look into the matter and take appropriate action. This is nothing new. I send all the requests that come to me to the authorities concerned and I have been doing this for the last 25 years.
"Forwarding representations of people to the right quarters is my responsibility," he said.
Sisodia claimed that it was clear that the BJP was against the very idea of affordable and quality education and assured parents of children studying in Delhi government schools that the parent-teacher meeting will take place and urged them to attend it.
"It is saddening and also unfortunate that we have such leaders and ministers who can stoop to the level of stopping a parent-teacher meeting," Sisodia said.
"If the BJP wants to compete with the AAP in the education sector, then they should start working for the betterment of government schools in states ruled by it such as Uttar Pradesh and Haryana," he said.
The Delhi deputy chief minister also said that since the BJP at power in the Centre, it should work on developing educational infrastructure across the country as well as of the schools run by civic bodies in Delhi which are ruled by the saffron party.
The BJP was not interested in developing the country's education infrastructure, but since the AAP government has done a remarkable job in this field in Delhi, they want to disrupt it, he alleged.
Stressing on the importance of parent-teacher meetings in Delhi's educational model, Sisodia said it has been one of the key aspects of this "revolutionary education model".
The pre-board exams got over a few days back and like every year nearly 65,000 teachers have worked very hard with students. This year nearly six lakh students will appear for the boards. The teachers want to discuss their feedback about students with their parents before the exams, he said.
"Only 45 days remain for the board examination. The teachers wanted to meet the parents because many times there are technical issues such as attendance shortage which creates trouble for the students to appear in the exams," the deputy chief minister said.
"It's beyond any reasonable understanding why the BJP would have any problem with such an initiative. If the children are getting better education then why is the BJP against that?" he posed.
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