Arvind Kejriwal Plans Reservation For Local Students In Delhi Colleges

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has asked state Education Minister Manish Sisodia to explore the possibility of giving 80 per cent reservation to students of the national capital in Delhi's government-aided colleges. Mr Kejriwal also asked him to see if 80-85 per cent of the guest teachers could be inducted from the national capital through a drive being conducted to appoint 9,000 teachers. This move would help generate jobs for the people of Delhi.

Interacting with volunteers on Google Hangouts, Mr Kejriwal listed measures taken by his government, especially in the health and education sectors and urged them to popularise the AAP dispensation's schemes. He said that the Aam Aadmi Party government aspires to achieve 100 per cent literacy in the national capital.

The chief minister said that he had been receiving complaints from students belonging to Delhi about not getting admission in the city-based colleges. "Delhi is the capital of the nation. It belongs to everyone and all are welcome here. But the colleges being run with the money of Delhi's taxpayers should have some reservation and students of Delhi should be given priority," he said.

"I request Manish ji (Sisodia) to explore the possibility of giving reservation in 28 colleges which get aid from the Delhi government," he said.

The Aam Aadmi Party had proposed a similar move in the past. With high cut-offs for admission to several colleges in Delhi, many students in the national capital complain of not getting seats.

Also, students in Delhi have to compete with those who complete their Class XII from outside the national capital. At present, Delhi Technological University and the Indraprastha University give reservation to students domiciled in Delhi.

Mr Kejriwal said the ambit of the Delhi government's education scheme to stand as a guarantor for students seeking education loan up to Rs. 10 lakh has been expanded. "This scheme was applicable to students pursuing courses in colleges in Delhi. Now, they can take benefit of the scheme to study anywhere in the world," he said.

He, however, rued that the government's flagship scheme for providing free treatment in private hospitals was not being implemented properly. "When I visited the hospitals, I realised that not all know about the scheme. I have told the medical superintendents to popularise this scheme," he said.

Mr Kejriwal also demanded that the centre waive farm loans and implement the Swaminathan Commission report. "If the Centre can waive loans of industrialists, then it can also write off the debt of farmers," he said.