LG rejected proposal to send Delhi govt teachers to Finland, says Sisodia

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday accused lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena of stopping the Delhi government from sending teachers at state-run schools to Finland for a training and exposure visit.

According to officials, the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Delhi had prepared a proposal for a five-day training programme for primary in-charges of Delhi government schools and teacher educators at Jyväskylä University in Finland. This proposal for the training of 30 teachers was accepted by the state government and sent to the LG, who however rejected it.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who holds the education portfolio, tweeted in Hindi, “The LG has prohibited Delhi government school teachers to travel to Finland for training. The government accepted the proposal for the training of 30 teachers and sent it to the LG. He said that the training can be done in the country itself.”

He added, “By unconstitutionally taking over the services department, the LG is overturning the decision taken by the chief minister and education minister in the interest of children in Delhi. The national and international training received by the Delhi government school teachers has a major contribution towards the change in Delhi’s education system.”

The LG’s office did not respond to queries seeking comments on Sisodia’s allegations.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said that while the LG had stopped him from going abroad, teachers should not be stopped from going for training.

“We have been sending teachers of Delhi government schools abroad for training. It has contributed a lot to the education revolution in Delhi. It is not right to stop them from going abroad,” he tweeted. “It is alright that you (LG) stopped me from going abroad, but let the teachers go to Finland for training.”

In a press release shared later in the day, the Delhi government also accused the LG of trying to stop key initiatives being undertaken by the state in the field of education.

So far, the Delhi government has sent 1,079 teachers to different countries through its various foreign exposure visits and/or trainings. Of these, 59 teachers have gone to Finland, 420 to Cambridge, and 600 to Singapore.