Punjab govt launches ‘Sikhya Kranti’ to transform education and health sectors

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, alongside former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, launched the ‘Sikhya Kranti,’ a 54-day ‘education festival’ aimed at unveiling newly developed projects in over 10,000 government schools on March 7, while also emphasizing the state government's active efforts to revitalize its education and healthcare sectors.

While inaugurating a new block at the School of Eminence in Nawanshahr district, Mann highlighted that, until now, sending children to government schools had often been the only option for the common man.

“But, with the education system revamped, it is now their wish,” he added.

Sisodia said, “We want a drug-free Punjab where children are empowered through education. Mann and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal have devised a dual solution. On one hand, hit drug traffickers so hard that they flee the state or abandon the trade altogether; and on the other, educate children so well that they never fall into the trap of drugs or drug dealing.”

“When I stepped inside this school, I felt immense happiness. The building is so magnificent that even most private schools cannot be compared with this. But a beautiful building alone does not make a great school — if that were the case, 5-star hotels and palaces would have been enough to educate children,” Sisodia added.

“What makes this school truly excellent is not just the infrastructure but the outstanding teachers. Every child and parent we met today praised not only the school but especially the teachers. They are truly remarkable. Engineers construct buildings, and teachers turn those buildings into schools. The government built this excellent facility, and the teachers have transformed it into an institution of learning,” Sisodia said, adding that the children of Punjab are full of dreams and confidence, and they just need a little support to fulfill their potential.

Sisodia said that neither riches nor intercommunal strife are important factors in AAP politics.

“We don’t have property empires or the politics of hate to offer. All we have is a vision to educate your children. That’s what Kejriwal and Mann bring to the politics of this country,” he said.

Over 12,000 government schools in Punjab have been renovated by the government, he continued, and more than 29 lakh children are currently enrolled there, receiving a top-notch education in state-of-the-art classrooms.

“Three years ago, when we campaigned in villages, we saw schools with broken walls, no benches, no bathrooms, and no clean drinking water. Today, not a single school in Punjab has children sitting on the floor. All have proper benches, high-tech labs, libraries, and secure boundary walls,” Sisodia said.

Sisodia emphasized the success of the AAP's educational program by revealing that 189 students from government schools in Punjab passed the JEE exam and would now attend IITs, all without having to pay a dime for coaching or tuition.

Mann blasted the state's prior administrations, claiming they never gave quality education any thought.

“The children of big leaders used to study in convent schools. Government-run institutions were never their focus. Instead of imparting education, government schools were merely midday meal centers during previous regimes,” he claimed.

Mann blasted competing party leaders, claiming they were already out of power and in political obscurity.

The CM provided information about his government's education-related activities, stating that instructors were being sent overseas and even to esteemed national institutions to improve their abilities.

He said that staff had contributed to an increase in the number of students admitted to government institutions and that Punjab was going through a "revolution in education."

He asserted that since the state government has hired sufficient staff for all other tasks, teachers and principals are now solely focused on education.