Promise
1. Fulfilled Transparency in Admissions: AAP committed to bring complete transparency in Nursery and KG admissions. To streamline the admission process, we will use a centralized online system for nursery admissions, removing avenues for corruption.
Status: The Delhi Government instituted Centralised Online System for Nursery/KG/First admission for children belonging to Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Socially Disadvantaged Group (DG). This has eliminated any corruption and potential violations of the law from the admission process. Consequently, the schools’ compliance has improved from a meagre 37% in the previous year to nearly 100% during AAP rule. 1 2
2. Stalled Regulate Private School Fees: AAP committed to regulating private school fees by publishing the fee structures and accounts online. AAP also committed to abolishing the capitation fee.
Status: In November 2015, Delhi Legislative Assembly passed two bills namely Delhi School (Verification of Accounts and Refund of Excess Fee) Bill, 2015 and ‘Delhi School Education (Amendment) Bill, 2015’. The bills make provision for publishing the fee structures and accounts of all the schools online as well as abolishes capitation fee. The bills lay down the criterion for fee hike and a Committee headed by retired High Court Judge to verify the accounts of the schools. However, 15 months since passed by the Legislative Assembly, the bills await the assent of Lieutenant Governor and Central Government. Despite this, the government has effectively regulated the fee hikes and acted swiftly against schools that violated norms causing them to refund the excess fee to the parents. 1 2 3 4
3. Fulfilled Increase in Budget for Education: AAP promised to increase spending on Education from the present level.
Status: The government increased the education budget by more than double increasing education share from 4,770 crore in the year 2014-15 to 9, 836 crore in the year 2015-16 and 10,690 crore in the year 2016-17. 1 2
4. Under Progress Five Hundred New Schools & Infrastructure Improvement in Schools: AAP promised to open 500 new schools with special focus on secondary and senior secondary schools.
Status: Number of schools have increased from 1007 in 2014-15 to 1030 in 2017-18. In addition to this, the Government is in process of constructing more than 8,000 new classrooms, most of which are nearing completion now. If 60 rooms were to equate with constructing one school, the Government of Delhi will have constructed 135 schools in a few months from now. Also, since there is a double shift concept of schools, the number of schools (in equivalent terms) would be equal to 270. The 2017-18 budget documents show that the government has sanctioned construction of 10,000 more classrooms (165 schools in equivalent terms). This will take the number of schools (in equivalent terms) to 600 when the construction work is complete. 1 2 3
5. Stalled Recruitment of Teachers: AAP promised to lower the student-teacher ratio by recruiting Seventeen thousand new teachers.
Status: Government of Delhi had sanctioned 9,643 posts. The file has been pending with Lieutenant Governor. However, the Government has cleared the delegation of powers to the Principals to appoint retired teachers in case of vacancy. This is considered to be temporary solution while the government completes the recruitment. 1 2
6. Fulfilled Community Involvement in Schools Management: AAP committed to ensuring that all schools set up School Management Committees comprising of all stakeholders that will functional and administrative powers.
Status: The government constituted School Management Committee comprising of parents, social workers, elected representatives, Principals and teachers in September 2015 by means of elections in schools. Since then, by means of modifying the rules in August 2016, the SMCs have been granted several administrative, financial and academic powers including organizing remedial education, signing MoUs with NGOs and inspection of records among many others. 1 2
7. Fulfilled Empowerment of Principals: AAP promised to empower Principals for decision-making in running of school including financial powers and administrative control over employees.
Status: The Delhi Government has delegated several administrative and financial powers to School Principals that were earlier exercised by Deputy Director. These powers include hiring of clerical staff, Estate Manager, provisioning of pre-primary education in school, appointment of retired teachers and inviting guest speakers at an honorarium. The Principal who chairs the School Management Committee is also empowered by virtue of several administrative, financial and academic powers being devolved to the Committee. Each School now has a separate post called Estate Manager who manages the sanitation, repair, maintenance, and other clerical work allowing the Principals to devote their time for improving academic environment of the schools. 1 2
8. Under Progress Easing issues of teacher administration: AAP promised to ease issues of teacher administration including making their salary receipts, increments, promotions, transfer posting and retirement benefits transparent and online.
Status: The government is in process of improving its data infrastructure that has thus far included EWS Admission, Grievance Redressal, Estate Manager App to track infrastructural issues and SMC app. The department has all the data related to various issues related to teacher administration like probation, salary, promotion, transfers, posting, retirement benefits etc and some of this is already online. However, because of the data infrastructure not being streamlined, teachers face issues. 1 2 3
9. Fulfilled Capacity Building of Teachers: AAP committed to give teacher training lot more emphasis and to reduce the quantum of non-academic work of teachers.
Status: Delhi Government increased teacher training budget from 9.4 crores in the year 2015-16 to 102 crores in the year 2016-17. The government has partnered with premier institutions like Cambridge University, National University of Singapore and Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad on variety of issues like leadership, pedagogy, and assessments. To improve the quality of teacher training workshops, there is massive capacity building exercise underway in collaboration with several NGOs and subject experts. The government has also issued the directions to not involve teachers in non-academic work resulting in reduction of quantum of time teachers spend on non-academic work. 1 2 3 4 5
10. Yet to Start More Anganwadis: AAP promised to open more Anganwadis for children under the age of 6 years and also bring Anganwadis under schooling system.
Status: The total number of Anganwadis has been stagnant at 10,897 for the last few years.
11. Under Progress Staffing ICSD program and Anganwadis: AAP promised to fully staff and efficiently utiliz the ICDS program and Anganwadis.
Status: Currently, there is 5% vacancy in Anganwadi workers, 22% at Supervisors level and 60% at CDPO level. Government has allocated budget for the recruitment and salaries of the staff indicating government’s intention to fill all the vacancies 1
12. Under Progress Maintenance of education history of all students: AAP committed to building systems designed for maintenance of education history of all students across schools and for improving learning outcomes.
Status: Government of Delhi has linked every student to his/her unique Aadhaar ID and thus paving the path to maintenance of records of all students. The records, currently, are being maintained but are not shared with relevant stakeholders as the child progresses. Having linked each child to his/her Aadhaar ID, the government is now in process of improving its data infrastructure.
13. Fulfilled Supporting Students: AAP promised to identify academically weaker students and support them.
Status: In July 2016, Delhi Government conducted reading assessment of all students studying in VI-VIII standard. On finding out that 74% students of Class VI could not read an advanced Hindi story, the government launched ‘Each Child Can Read’ Campaign as a result of which 97,000 more students could read advanced Hindi text by November 2016. The government has announced continuing with this program. 1 2
14. Under Progress Third Party Large-Scale Assessments: AAP committed to conduct large scale assessments of the schools on a regular basis.
Status: The endline assessment of reading proficiency of students of class VI-VIII that the department of education conducted in November 2016 was with the help of DIET students which are different bodies. This assessment was notified by the Directorate vide circular dated 10th November 2016. Hence, it can be termed a Third Party Assessment. However, the government is yet to set up any independent Assessment Commission for this purpose.
15. Under Progress 20 New Colleges: AAP promised to open 20 new colleges in Delhi to avoid unnecessary migration of talented and motivated students to other states of India or abroad, due to an acute shortage of seats.
Status: The government is in process of expanding Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD). 200 students have been admitted to four undergraduate course for the 2016-17 academic session at its new Campus at Karampura and is expected to accommodate over 2,200 students by 2019. Three additional campus centres of AUD are proposed to be opened at Rohini, Dheerpur and Lodhi Road by 2019. Similarly, the bill to grant University status to Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology (NSIT) has already been approved that increases the number of students from its current 3,500 to 12,000 across its under-graduate, graduate and Ph.D courses. The bill, however, has been returned by the Lieutenant Governor for the reconsideration of Delhi Legislative Assembly. Delhi Technological University is proposing to set up a new campus in East Delhi. Number of seats in the 12 Delhi University Colleges that are under the administrative control of Delhi Government are proposed to be increased from 6251 to 7742, an increase of 24%. In addition, the 2017-18 budget documents show that the government has allocated for the construction of a Sports University and East Campus of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University for School of Planning and Architecture. 1 2 3 4 5
16. Fulfilled Higher Education Guarantee Loan Scheme: AAP promised to ensure that all students graduating from Delhi schools who wish to pursue any Diploma/Degree be given bank loan with only one condition - securing admission.
Status: Delhi Government unveiled its loan scheme in September 2015 to students and thus far 161 students have been sanctioned loans worth 4.1 crore rupees. 54 students were sanctioned loan in the year 2015-16 and 131 in the year 2016-17. The government has made a budgetary allocation of 5 crore rupees in the financial year 2017-18 to grant loans to 150 students. 1 2