One of the thing that amazes me about US is their Robust Public Education system upto Senior Secondary level. In my opinion this is a great normalizer and equalizer for Students coming from different financial, economic and geographical backgrounds under one roof and having similar access to the Educational Facilities. I still remember when AAP won the landslide mandate in 2015, their main issues on which they won the elections were promises to improve “Bijli (Electricity), Paani (Water), Health and Education” in Delhi.

Never in my wildest dreams, I thought that they would be able to deliver on Education. Before you tag me as a pessimist, hear me out. Indian Government Education System has 3 main drawbacks which have brought down the level of teaching in these Schools.

1. Lack of Good Teachers

Teaching as a profession is losing its charm in India, and that is the reason you might hear young students wanting to be an engineer, doctor, accountant etc. No one is willing to pursue teaching as a career option. This has led to a shortage of good quality teachers across India, particularly in government schools. Due to this, teachers who are hired to fill in the vacancies are either those who were not deemed fit for any other profession or if they are good, they simply do not have enough self motivation because of their continuous neglect by state governments.

2. Poor Infrastructure

Government schools have been poorly funded by governments one after the other over several years. This has led to a complete degradation and breakdown of infrastructure in these schools.

3. Rise of Private Schools in India

Many private schools, colleges and universities are owned by a political leader or others related to them. In order to ensure that their enterprises do not run out of business, politicians don’t want to make good education in publicly funded schools as their key priority.

Problems mentioned above are just tip of the iceberg. Hence, I was very skeptical if AAP will ever be able to deliver on their promise of quality education in government schools. But, I was not aware that AAP has a lot of hidden gems in its pocket and one of them is the East Delhi MP candidate “Atishi”.

Today, after only 4 years in power, Atishi and her team have been able to change the face of government funded schools in Delhi. She has shown to everyone that if there is a political will to transform something, no obstacles can stop any government.

For the first time since I started following politics, we have a candidate who is seeking votes in the name of education. A candidate who is seeking votes on the basis of work that she has done and not on the basis of hollow “Acche din” promises.

My request to fellow Indians and particularly East Delhi Residents is simply to cast your vote for education. Atishi for East Delhi, Atishi for good education.

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