All India Congress Committee Treasurer Ajay Maken on Sunday claimed that the number of students appearing for and passing Class XII in Delhi government schools has decreased compared to when his party was in power.
During a press conference, Maken said that from 2008-09 to 2013-14, the number of students passing in government schools was rising every year, increasing from 75,974 to 1.47 lakh.
Responding to this, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) hit back at Congress, saying it was unfortunate that the party was parroting the same fabricated narratives scripted at the BJP’s headquarters.
“In Delhi, the BJP and Congress are having an ILU ILU moment, but the people of Delhi see through their game. The Congress is fighting for its existence, while Arvind Kejriwal is fighting to save the country,” the AAP said in its response.
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“As soon as they (AAP) came to power, the number of students passing Class XII started to decline,” Maken claimed.
In 2014-15, the number dropped to 1.23 lakh, 1.02 lakh in 2017-18, and 1.09 lakh in 2019-20, he said.
Later, it increased to 1.46 lakh in 2023-24, which can be attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic, as many parents shifted their children from private schools to government schools, Maken said. However, he argued that this increase was still less than the 2013-14 numbers.
“The population of the national capital is increasing, but the number of students passing Class XII is decreasing. This is their education model, which everyone needs to understand,” Maken alleged.
He further claimed that the decrease in passing students was due to fewer students appearing for the exams. “They are failing students in Class 11 so that the pass percentage improves,” Maken alleged.
He also claimed that in 2013-14, the number of students appearing for exams was 1.66 lakh, while in 2023-24, the number dropped to 1.51 lakh, a decrease of 15,000 students.
Maken stated that in 2013-14, when they lost the elections, four lakh more students were studying in government schools compared to private schools.
“In 2009-10, there were 14.66 lakh students in government schools and 12.28 lakh in private schools. By 2013-14, the number had increased to 17.75 lakh in government schools, while private schools had 13.57 lakh students. After that, children have been leaving government schools for private ones every year,” he said.
He noted that for the first time, the number of students in private schools surpassed those in government schools. “In 2018-19, there were 16.61 lakh students in private schools, compared to 16.47 lakh in government schools,” he added.
“When we ask them questions, they do not provide answers. Instead, they say that they are reading someone else’s script. If your education model is so good, why is the number of children passing Class XII decreasing? Why are children leaving government schools and enrolling in private schools?” Maken questioned.
Further discussing Delhi’s air pollution, Maken stated that it’s main cause was the large number of vehicles on the roads due to a disrupted public transport system, not stubble burning by farmers.
“Kejriwal blamed the farmers for his own incompetence and inability to control air pollution. According to TERI, vehicular emissions, which accounted for 28 percent in 2016, now contribute to 47 per cent of the total estimated PM 2.5 in Delhi,” he claimed.
Delhi roads see around 1,800 new vehicles daily, with vehicles accounting for the largest contribution to the toxic air. The reason for the increase in private vehicles on the road, he said, was the reduction in the passenger-carrying capacity of DTC.
He claimed that when Congress was in power in 2012-13, DTC carried 46.77 lakh passengers per day, while the number fell sharply to 24.43 lakh by August 2024 under the AAP government.
The number of buses in the DTC fleet fell from 5,609 in 2012-13 to 4,541 in August 2024, and the number of DTC depots dropped from 43 to 38, Maken said. Even when new buses are added, there will not be enough parking space, he added.