Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s declaration about closing 36 provincialised schools in the state triggered a Twitter war with his Delhi counterpart, Arvind Kejriwal.
The Delhi CM on Friday told Sarma that they both should learn from each other, as “only then will India become the number one country”. Kejriwal’s response came after the Assam chief minister lashed out at him over the amalgamation of schools, asking him to “do his homework” before commenting.
Sharing a news item claiming that the Assam government closed 34 schools due to poor results, Kejriwal had tweeted in Hindi on Wednesday, “Closing schools is not the solution. We actually need to open a lot of new schools across the country. Instead of shutting down schools, fix them by improving education.”
Sarma countered the Delhi CM’s claim the next day.
Dear @ArvindKejriwal Ji – As usual you commented on something without any homework!
Since my days as Edu Minister, till now, please note, Assam Govt has established/ taken over 8610 NEW SCHOOLS; break-up below.
How many new schools Delhi Government has started in last 7 yrs? https://t.co/PTV7bO4GKL
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) August 25, 2022
Providing details about what the Assam government has done in education and the number of established schools, he added, “Curious to know Delhi’s figures!”
On Friday, Kejriwal tweeted back: “Ah. You took it the wrong way. I didn’t mean to highlight your flaws. We are all one country. We have to learn from each other. Only then will India become the number one country. I am ready to come to Assam. Tell me when can I come? You show your good work in the field of education. You come to Delhi, I will show you the work of Delhi.”
Sarma was back on the microblogging site soon after with a thread of facts and figures.
Dear @ArvindKejriwal Ji, Your ignorance is painful. Let me help you. Assam is 50 times bigger than Delhi! Our 44521 govt schools teach 65 lakh students- against your 1000+ odd schools. Our army of dedicated teachers number 2+ lakh; Midday meal workers 1.18 lakh. Fathom it?👇
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) August 26, 2022
The Assam CM said that since his tenure as the education minister, the state government has, from 2013 till now, provincialised or taken over private schools into the 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.
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