In the midst of a verbal spat with Arvind Kejriwal, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma revealed on Tuesday a plan to invest Rs 10,000 crore to modernise the appearance and infrastructure of the state’s high schools and education.
“For the development of our high schools, we will spend Rs 10,000 crore so that each high school looks better than the convent schools, and we can improve infrastructure. This is how we are trying to bring a new flow of development to the entire state,” Sarma made the announcement after laying the foundation for a new bridge in the North Assam district of Udalguri.
Sarma also agreed that the state’s high schools lacked adequate infrastructure. The declaration comes after a conflict between him and Kejriwal that began on August 24 when the Delhi CM questioned the Assam administration’s decision to close 34 government schools due to poor class X exam results.
“Closing the schools is not an answer. Instead, we must open more schools across India. We must try to improve the condition of the schools,” Kejriwal took to Twitter.
Kejriwal has informed Sarma several times that he wants to visit Assam to view the government schools. He also invited Sarma to visit Delhi and witness how the Aam Aadmi Party government has transformed government schools there.
As Kejriwal insisted on visiting Assam to examine school conditions, Sarma attacked the Delhi CM and tweeted, “Your ignorance is painful. Let me help you. Assam is 50 times bigger than Delhi! Our 44521 govt schools teach 65 lakh students- against your 1000+ odd schools. Our army of dedicated teachers numbers 2+ lakh; Midday meal workers 1.18 lakh. Fathom it?”
“Unlike in Delhi, we manage fury of floods, deal with militancy, negotiate hilly & tough terrains – and yet deliver high-quality education. We impart education in six mediums including 14 different tribal languages….,” Sarma tweeted further on Friday.
Ministers in Sarma’s cabinet and BJP MLAs joined in criticising Kejriwal’s tweets questioning the Assam government’s efforts to reform government schools.