Himanta Biswa Sarma Lashes Out At Arvind Kejriwal For Commenting On Amalgamation Of Schools

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday lashed out at his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal over the amalgamation of schools, asking him to "do his homework" before commenting.

"Dear @ArvindKejriwal Ji-as usual you commented on something without any homework! Since my days as Education Minister till now, please note, the Assam government has established/taken over 8,610 new schools," he tweeted.

The Aam Aadmi Party chief had earlier tweeted that closure of schools is not a solution and there was a need for opening more schools across the country.

"Instead of closing schools there was a need for improvement in their conditions and studies," Kejriwal had tweeted in response to a news item claiming that the Assam government closed 34 schools due to poor results.

Sarma claimed that since his tenure as the education minister, the state government has from 2013 till now provincialised or taken over private schools into government fold and this includes 6,802 elementary and 1,589 secondary schools, 81 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, three Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Avashik Vidyalaya and 97 tea garden model schools.

"Curious to know Delhi's figures," he added. The state government has initiated the amalgamation process of nearly 2,500 schools in the state.

It had taken a decision that schools located in close proximity, those having very low enrolment and schools with poor performance in the board exams will be closed and the students will be accommodated in the nearby schools.

Education Minister Ranoj Pegu had said on Wednesday that there was a proposal to amalgamate at least 2,500 schools but each case is being examined thoroughly.

"As far as possible, we are making all efforts not to close down the schools but where the enrolment is very low or the schools are in close proximity, amalgamation is necessary for the judicious utilisation of resources," Pegu added.

(With PTI Inputs)