LG stopping us from sending teachers to Finland for training: AAP govt

Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said the LG twice returned a file containing the proposal to send Delhi government teachers to Finland for training, asking if a cost-benefit analysis of the programme has been done.I told him that a soldier lays down his life for the country but merely gets a salary of Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia on Friday alleged that Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena returned a proposal to send government teachers to Finland for training, asking them to do a cost-benefit analysis of the programme first.

The Raj Niwas, however, said the ''LG has not rejected the proposal for the training program for primary-in-charges in Finland. Any statement on (to) the contrary is misleading and mischievously motivated''. Members of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Atishi, also protested outside the LG's residence over the issue. Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said the LG twice returned a file (containing the proposal) to send Delhi government teachers to Finland for training, asking if a cost-benefit analysis of the programme has been done.

''I told him that a soldier lays down his life for the country but merely gets a salary of Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000. Have we ever done a cost-benefit analysis of a soldier's life? We are shaping the future of our children here. We are building a nation.

''I spend my entire salary on my children. You cannot do cost-benefit analysis of certain things,'' he said.

At a press conference earlier in the day, Sisodia said so far around 1,100 teachers have undergone training abroad, including Singapore, the UK and Finland.

Now that the people of the BJP have an ''unauthorised hold'' over the services department, they are ''doing dirty politics'' to stop the AAP government in Delhi from giving the best training to teachers, he alleged.

The LG returned the proposal to send a batch of teachers to Finland in December, questioning the credentials of the institution imparting training and whether guidelines were being followed, the AAP leader alleged. ''When we answered his queries, he asked for a cost-benefit analysis and if such a programme can be done in India,'' Sisodia claimed, adding, ''The prime minister and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states will go to the World Economic Forum. Will that also be stopped on the pretext of cost-benefit analysis?'' He said that if the LG cares for the future of children and doesn't want their education to be impacted, then he ''should not side with the BJP in their conspiracy''.

''We wanted to send a batch of 30 teachers to Finland for training. The LG delayed it on one pretext or another,'' Sisodia claimed.

The Delhi deputy chief minister alleged the BJP was trying to ''use all its might'' to stop the Delhi government's efforts to send school teachers to Finland for training.

''We sent teachers to Finland as it is one of the best places that has carried out education reforms. We want to expose our teachers to such international standards, as it is the teachers who contribute to raising the standard of education,'' Sisodia told reporters.

He said, ''The BJP doesn't know it because they have nothing to do with education.'' Sisodia said the file regarding sending teachers to Finland for training will be again sent to the LG.

The Raj Niwas, in a series of tweets, said the LG has only advised the Delhi government to evaluate the proposal in totality and assess the effectiveness of such foreign training programmes undertaken in the past.

Saxena advised the government to identify similar training programmes in Indian institutions.

''LG has also advised for examining and identifying similar training programmes in the Institutions of Excellence, within the country, so as to ensure optimal utilization of resources, fiscal prudence and administrative effectiveness,'' the Raj Niwas said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)