Education policies are being drafted for a long time now, it is the implementation that needs focus, said Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister, Delhi. He was speaking at the 10th edition of the ThinkEdu Conclave, organised by The New Indian Express on March 8. He was sharing his views on the National Education policy in a tête-à-tête with Senior Journalist Kaveree Bamzai.
"Even the national education policies that were drafted in 1966 and 1986 had many salient features. But we always fail to speak about rote learning and how a student must understand what he/she is being taught. The education sector needs to be a political priority and spending, must be increased," said Sisodia, adding that Delhi spends 25 per cent of its budget on education.
He advocated the need to link education and history. According to the Deputy Chief Minister, only if education is linked to major reforms around the world, development and importance of education can be gauged. Speaking about the measures taken by the Delhi government towards the betterment of the education sector, Sisodia said most of the government schools have been revamped and smart digital boards and state-of-the-art computer labs have been made a priority.
"Since National Education Policies never focused on visual thinking policies, we introduced Delhi board where the focus is only on understanding and not learning. Today, over 16 lakh students study in government schools and their performance is getting better by the day. Similarly, the Delhi Teachers University was inaugurated to put teaching at the same level as other more sought-after professions. We will produce nation builders from this university who will work 360 degrees on children," he said.
When asked why the children of 'influential' people still prefer to study in private schools, when they must lead the way encouraging people to join government schools, Sisodia was quick to answer, "The focus must be on reforming the infrastructure, to give them confidence. In Delhi, after the schools got an upgrade, children of judges and politicians started enrolling in government schools."
ThinkEdu 2022 is the grand tenth rendition of what has consistently been India's biggest education conclave for a decade now. March 8 and 9 will see some stalwarts of India's academic, economic and political ecosystems bring ideas, ideologies and reflections on the past, present and future of India's education system. The sessions will be viewed by a live audience, in addition to the 2,750 registered users on the conclave's digital space. Over the last nine years, the conclave has seen some true stalwart thinkers such as former presidents Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Dr Pranab Mukherjee, MPs Jairam Ramesh, Smriti Irani, former CM of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah, NITI Aayog's CEO, Amitabh Kant and spiritual guide Sadhguru.
