With the ‘Gujarat Model’ of development being instrumental in catapulting BJP to the seat of power, its time now to implement the same in other BJP-ruled bodies. In one such move, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has decided to visit slums and villages during summer vacations to identify and enrol children deprived of education.
As PM Narendra Modi has himself put it, this has been a practice in Gujarat where senior officers visit villages during the summer break and urge parents, particularly the wage earners, to send their children to schools.
Newly elected Chairman of Education Committee in South Delhi Corporation, Ashish Sood said all senior functionaries of the then civic body, including Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Standing Committee Chairman, Municipal Commission and Additional Commissioners, would visit the marginalised families in their areas and pick students from there. “Taking cue from Gujarat State, we have decided to go to public. We will ensure that no child in our area is deprived of primary education and that the Right to Education is extended to one and all,” said Sood. He said usually the people from lower strata of society cannot ensure proper education of their children. According to estimates, there are over 1.5 lakh children in SDMC areas who are as yet deprived of elementary education. The SDMC runs 588 schools in which approximately 3.5 lakh students are enrolled.