If Education Is Good in Delhi Schools, Why Can’t Students Read Books?

Delhi Government has announced “Mission Buniyaad” for improving reading levels of children studying in Delhi government schools as well as municipal schools.

By Rakesh Raman

The Education Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, who often makes false claims about the quality of education in Delhi schools, has now admitted that the students even in higher classes of schools cannot read their books.

Sisodia has announced the launch of “Mission Buniyaad” for improving reading levels of children studying in Delhi government schools as well as municipal schools.

Announcing the program, Sisodia referred to the National Achievement Survey (NAS) which has shown that the entire country, including Delhi, has a crisis of learning in schools. The NAS survey reveals that about half of all children in schools are not able to read their grade level textbooks.

शिक्षा लाओ, स्कूल बचाओ आंदोलन

Meanwhile, the residents of Delhi have started a new movement “शिक्षा लाओ, स्कूल बचाओ” to get the quality of education improved in Delhi schools. The students, parents, and teachers can participate in this movement so that the education rights of millions of children in Delhi could be protected. Click here for details.

In the secondary schools run by Delhi Government, according to Sisodia, some programs have improved reading ability by about 20%.

However, he added that children in primary schools that are under the MCDs are not able to read and thereafter when they study in secondary schools they find it difficult to cope up with the advanced levels.

[ Fault Lines: A Research Report on the Quality of Education in Delhi Schools ]

According to Sisodia, the municipal bodies of Delhi that run primary schools in the city will raise a cadre of teachers who will drive the program. One teacher will take care of five schools and will train teachers of these five schools on enhancing reading ability of children.

The entire program will run from Classes 3 to 5 in MCD schools and in Classes 6 to 8 in Delhi government schools. All officials of the Education Department will run the campaign in mission mode for three months from April to June, 2018, Sisodia said.

Children will undergo a reading level assessment based on which they will be enrolled in specialized “Mission Buniyaad” classes in their schools.

“For children who are not able to read, I request all parents to cancel their vacation plans during summer holidays and send their children to school for reading classes,” Sisodia said.

By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.