Chandigarh: On the SAD allegation regarding closure of certain government schools, the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh noted that, once again, the party was misguiding the people by mutilating the truth. The fact was that the government had merely decided to merge 800 government schools with less than 20 students with adjoining schools situated within a kilometre of its radius.
Like on all other counts, the education system of the state had also been destroyed by the Akali-BJP combine during its tenure, with most institutions lying in shreds, the Chief Minister observed. From schools to colleges to technical institutions, everything was in a total mess, Captain Amarinder said, adding that his government was trying to bring the state’s education system back on the track. The decision to merge certain schools would lead to better utilization of the teaching staff, which was in critical shortage, thanks to the ill-conceived policies of the Badals, he added, ruling out any possibility of the move affecting the lives of the students.
The Badals had destroyed every system in the state, from education to health, industry and agriculture, for which they had been duly punished by the people, who had outright rejected them in the Assembly elections, the Chief Minister said. It was clear that SAD was now desperate to woo back the people of Punjab and was resorting to all kinds of deceitful acts towards this end, he said, adding that the people were not going to allow themselves to be fooled by the Badals.
The people gave them 10 years to do something for the development and progress of the state but the Badals failed miserably to come up to their expectations. On the contrary, they actually used this period to loot the people and fill up their own pockets, leaving the state exchequer reeling under an unprecedented burden, said the Chief Minister. Instead of supporting and cooperating with the government in the interest of the state and its people, the Akalis were once again back to playing their dirty games, he pointed out.
His government, said Captain Amarinder, was committed to implementing every promise made in the Congress manifesto and would continue to find ways and means of bringing the state back on the path of growth and development, notwithstanding the economic crisis it had inherited from the Akalis.
