Sidhu joins Delhi guest teachers’ protest outside Kejriwal’s home

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Sunday joined the protest of Delhi government schools’ guest teachers outside the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. 

Sidhu alleged that Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had failed, as promised, to create “eight lakh new jobs and 20 new colleges” in the capital.

The move came days after the Delhi CM visited Mohali and met teachers protesting against the quality of schools in the district. 

On Sunday, Sidhu took to Twitter to hit out at the AAP, stating that it had “promised to regularize contractual teachers (and) give (them) equal wages as permanent staff, but made it worse by just having guest teachers”.

Also read: ‘Hunger strike’ – Sidhu’s latest threat to Punjab government

Sidhu said the AAP had reneged on its 2015 manifesto to create jobs and colleges. “You have given only 440 jobs in Delhi. On the contrary of your failed guarantees, the unemployment rate of Delhi has increased by almost five times in the last five years,” he said.

Sidhu alleged that job vacancies for teachers in Delhi had increased to 19,907 in 2021, from 12,515 in 2015.

“Delhi Education Model is Contract Model…Delhi government has 1,031 schools, while only 196 schools have principals. 45 per cent teachers’ posts are vacant and schools are run by 22,000 guest teachers on daily wages with renewal of contracts every 15 days,” he said.

With the Punjab assembly election around the corner, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, who holds the education portfolio, had a war of words with Punjab Education Minister Pargat Singh in November over the state of education in their respective states. Both ministers have been claiming that government schools in their states have fared better.