Attacking the Centre for reducing the Central education Budget which he said would "ruin the country", Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal warned the Centre on Sunday not to "mess around with the youth and education" in order to avoid a "perilous" future.
"Don't mess around with the youth and education of this country. If this system continues then the future may be in peril, unemployment will be widespread," he said.
Running through the initiatives taken by the AAP Government during a live interactive session on Sunday, Kejriwal called for repealing the "no-detention policy" under which every student is promoted till Class IX.
"The Centre has a no-detention policy in place till Class VIII… But it is found that in Class IX students suffer from depression and even commit suicide as they can't read and write. This no-detention policy should end, this is ruining the country. I appeal to the Centre to clear the Bill we have passed in this regard," he said.
On reservation for local students in the Delhi University, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said he will meet Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar and urge him to provide 5 per cent grace on cut-off marks in 28 colleges that receive funds from the Delhi Government.
Kejriwal said the BJP Government's decision to reduce education Budget by about 25 per cent, "from 82,000 crore to 68,000 crore" was fraught with dangers as the country will be ruined if the youth don't get to study.
Kejriwal also accused lt Governor Najeeb Jung of cancelling Delhi Government's proposal to involve the Akshaya Patra Foundation in the mid-day meal scheme, saying a similar initiative was doing fine in Gujarat and eight other States.
"I had promised to regularise guest teachers but the l-G rejected the proposal. How will the 45 new schools runIJ We have built 8,000 new classrooms. We sought land from the DDA to build 10 new hospitals which they are not giving. The lG also cancelled a Commission of Inquiry on women's safety," he said.
Expenditure in health and education is an investment for the AAP Government, said Kejriwal, adding that it has identified land for 100 new schools, which he claimed would be superior to private schools.
"Many private schools have turned into teaching shops and are resorting to 'goondaism'. They randomly increase fees. Earlier, these schools used to go around taking the chief ministers in their pockets as CMs used to push requests. I have not pushed one request. My son goes to a school in Noida. Had I wanted, I could have sent my son to any school in Delhi but that would have weakened my position," he said.