'Will make education a mass movement': Manish Sisodia announces 'Deshbhakti' curriculum in Delhi budget

Deputy chief Manish Sisodia on Tuesday presented Delhi Budget 2021 where he announced that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government will introduce 'Deshbhakti' curriculum in its schools this year.

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Sisodia, who also holds the portfolio of finance, said that at least one period per day in schools will be based on the new 'Deshbhakti' curriculum.

"We will ensure that every child is proud if his/her country, its systems, its people and respects the it," said Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio. "We will train our children in such a manner that when they become government officials, they think twice before even jumping a red light or thinking about breaking the rules of the system," said the deputy chief minister as he presented Delhi's first paperless budget.

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Sisodia further said that many great leaders of the country wanted their people to have access to quality education. "We will make education a mass movement," said the AAP leader.

Elaborating on the government's plan, Sisodia said that the they will start a voluntary mentorship programme. "We will prepare students who have successfully completed their education and have good jobs to help those students who are struggling in the absence of resources and information," he said, adding that the programme will be called 'Youth for Education'.

Sisodia also presented a proposal to set up a Sainik school and an armed forces preparatory school in the national capital in his budget for 2021-22.

Sisodia further said that the apart from these, the AAP government will also take three major steps in the field of education: new syllabus from nursery to Class 8, setting up of Delhi's own school education board and starting 100 schools of excellence in the national capital. The new school education board was recently cleared by Delhi government's cabinet.

"The idea behind the board and the new curriculum is that we want to prepare staunch patriots who take responsibilities for the country, be good human beings, and become job creators. These are the main goals behind creating Delhi's own board," said Sisodia.

The new syllabus will be in line with the New Education Policy (NEP) announced by the Centre recently which stresses on putting primary education in the mainstream.

Education is one sector in which the AAP government has made major strides. From setting up new schools, to starting parent-teacher meetings (PTMs), the AAP government has done a lot for the sector. It has also instituted a mechanism where private schools built on DDA land have to seek the government’s nod before hiking annual fees.