The Delhi government on Friday sent the proposal regarding teachers’ training in Finland for a third time to Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena for his approval. “The government has examined the proposal from all aspects, including cost-benefit analysis, and finds it essential to improve the quality of education. If the Chief Minister and Education Minister have decided to send their teachers abroad, how could the L-G scuttle it by repeatedly raising flimsy objections?” Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said.
The proposal to send government school teachers to Finland for training has emerged as a fresh flashpoint between the AAP government and the L-G. The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) had planned a five-day training programme for primary teaching incharges of Delhi government schools and educators of SCERT at Jyväskylä University in Finland. The L-G had earlier sent back the proposal on two occasions and asked for a cost-benefit analysis.
The issue created an uproar in Delhi Assembly earlier this week on the first day of the winter session after AAP MLAs raised objections over the issue and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal led his MLAs to Raj Niwas in a protest march. Mr. Kejriwal had said the L-G was interfering in the work of the Delhi government by not clearing the proposal and accused him of having a “feudal mindset”.
Earlier on Friday, the L-G, in a letter to the Chief Minister, commented on the issue saying he did not reject the proposal, but raised a few queries about the impact assessment and cost-benefit analysis of such visits that have been going on for the past few years. Mr. Saxena said he asked the department whether such training could be obtained in a more cost-effective manner in institutions of excellence within the country such as the IIMs. “You would appreciate that the aim was not to obstruct. Even in the recent past, I had cleared proposals to send 55 Principals and Vice-Principals of government schools to Cambridge in two batches for 10 days each, with specific training goals.
Mr. Sisoida, in his proposal, said: “The elite class of our country suffers from a feudal mindset. They want to send their children abroad but strongly object and seek cost-benefit analysis when teachers of poor children are to be sent abroad.”
He added that the L-G cannot refuse any proposal. He can only refer it to the President.
