Speaking at the 7th Mail Today Education and Skill Summit 2018, Sisodia talked about the changes implemented by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the sphere of academics, his vision for the future and what he believes are the “pain points” of the Indian education system.

When asked whether being the education minister of the national capital is an easier job as compared to a Bihar or Uttar Pradesh, Sisodia said, “The biggest challenge I have faced as Delhi education minister is: I wish I had more land available to open more schools and colleges.”

“Only in Delhi will you see that if an education minister wants to set up a university or open a school, he will have to ask for land from the central government. He will have to literally buy the land. Land here has been given to so many people for so many purposes–setting up malls or building colonies–but somehow land is not available for setting up schools or universities,” the minister said.

Reading challenge given by Manish Sisodia

Apparently, children attending government schools in India can read and write; however, Education Minister Manish Sisodia was not sure about it.

“I was surprised to know that 74 per cent students in government schools are not able to read their own textbooks and that is where the challenge lies for our teachers. We have taught our kids to read, then to gain knowledge and then to earn a living and we have accepted this challenge,” he said during an event on Teachers’ Day.

Later, he asked the people of Delhi to take a 70-day reading challenge from the Teachers Day to the Children’s Day on November 14 and teach every kid how to read.

Taking the reading challenge pan India

Taking a note from this noble thought, ‘Share A Book India Association’ (SABIA) is an independent NGO which is run by young minds — Priti Birgi, Srishti Parihar, Shrishti Rai, Rahul Gupta, Riya Raj, Anurag Mahor, Jasreen Birgi, Nayanika Saikia, Pushkar Marathe, Sabnoor Bharj, Dr. Garima Saroj, Akash Rode — who are doing a remarkable job by exchanging books across the web and helping students with reading.

The team has been to several government schools in Kota, Pune, Mumbai, and Delhi.

Started off on Instagram, this page is making waves by getting appreciations from eminent figures like the former president of India Pranab Mukherjee and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.

 

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