Silent revolution taking place in Delhi’s education sector; our schools ensuring children become job providers and not job seekers: CM Arvind Kejriwal
Started working on assessing if what students are being taught is actually worthy of giving them jobs: CM Arvind Kejriwal
Youth of this country wasn’t allowed to think about entrepreneurship; their energy, potential and innovative thinking wasn’t given a conducive environment: CM Arvind Kejriwal
Just think of the progress our country will see if all these students start developing their ideas into reality: CM Arvind Kejriwal
Business Blasters should be implemented at the university level too so that when our young entrepreneurs enter college they get to work on their business: CM Arvind Kejriwal
We kicked off the Business Blasters program in Delhi Government Schools under which every student gets seed funding of Rs 2,000: CM Arvind Kejriwal
No student should leave the university without a career program; when they step out with their degree they should know what to do in life: CM Arvind Kejriwal
Britishers specifically designed this system to create hurdles for us; we need to redevelop the whole system: CM Arvind Kejriwal
Government systems should help people, make their lives easier, but our system tries to stop ambition the moment it grows: CM Arvind Kejriwal
We have taken up a lot of innovations in governance in Delhi and are working on transforming the system: CM Arvind Kejriwal
We all must come together to change the system for good and take our society forward: CM Arvind Kejriwal
If we all come together to improve the state of our society then no one will be able to stop our country from becoming a world leader: CM Arvind Kejriwal
Every student must resolve to contribute towards the progress of our nation with all that they learn as a part of their education: Dy CM Manish Sisodia
Our government has increased the number of university seats so that more children can pursue higher education: Dy CM Manish Sisodia
Kejriwal Government has established splendid new campuses over the last 7 years, including DPSRU, NSUT, DSEU, Delhi Sports University, and Delhi Teachers University: Dy CM Manish Sisodia
CM Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia address 14th convocation ceremony of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University
NEW DELHI:
Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal addressed the 14th convocation ceremony of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University on Wednesday. The CM called for unleashing the potential and energy of the youth asserting that India will make great progress if the youth is given freedom to progress. Shri Kejriwal stated — a silent revolution is taking place in Delhi’s education sector; our schools are ensuring children become job providers and not job seekers. Started working on assessing if what students are being taught is actually worthy of giving them jobs. Youth of this country wasn’t allowed to think about entrepreneurship; their energy, potential and innovative thinking wasn’t given a conducive environment. Just think of the progress our country will see if all these students start developing their ideas into reality. Business Blasters should be implemented at the university level too so that when our young entrepreneurs enter college they get to work on their businesses. We kicked off the Business Blasters program in Delhi Government Schools under which every student gets seed funding of Rs 2,000. No student should leave the university without a career program; when they step out with their degree they should know what to do in life. Britishers specifically designed this system to create hurdles for us; we need to redevelop the whole system. Government systems should help people, make their lives easier, but our system tries to stop ambition the moment it grows. We have taken up a lot of innovations in governance in Delhi and are working on transforming the system. We all must come together to change the system for good and take our society forward. If we all come together to improve the state of our society then no one will be able to stop our country from becoming a world leader.
Today, Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal addressed a rousing crowd of students at the 14th convocation of Delhi Government’s Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. Besides the CM, LG Shri Anil Baijal, Deputy Chief Minister Shri Manish Sisodia, and Chief Secretary of Delhi Shri Vijay Kumar Dev present on stage along with the Vice Chancellor of the university Professor Dr. Mahesh Verma. LG Shri Anil Baijal has joined the event virtually.
The event saw the ceremonial lighting of the lamp by the CM and the Deputy CM as well as other guests of honour. The university anthem was played accompanied with a presentation giving a glimpse of life at GGSIPU as the crowd stood still. The ceremony included some melodious songs sung by the university choir, followed by words of great motivation by the eminent guests of honour.
Shri Arvind Kejriwal said, “I congratulate everyone present here today as it is a very important day for us all. I extend my heartiest congratulations to the graduating students who will receive their degrees today as well as their parents. I especially congratulate the faculty, whose tireless efforts have led to this day. The convocation day holds great value in the life of a student. I still remember when I received my degree, it is a day that stays with you for the rest of your life. This day marks the end of a crucial phase of our life, and the beginning of the next one. I hope and pray that the dreams that all students have envisioned for themselves, for their careers, turns into reality. I pray for unfettered progress and excellence for all students, for the country and for our society.”
He continued, “On this occasion, I’d like to share some very positive news with you all. I have always enjoyed interacting with the youth of our country as it always leaves me motivated with the sheer idealism and energy that they harbour for our collective future. The state of education in our country has not seen any significant changes since the time of Macaulay, since the days the British ruled over India. They had developed a certain degree-oriented model of education, which I do not mean to dismiss. However, in today’s day and age, after earning their degree, a young graduate steps out into the market of jobs, only to wander and stumble in search of suitable employment. In Delhi, the education sector has undergone a great deal of reform and improvement. Delhi’s government schools, which were in a dilapidated state once upon a time, are now prime institutes of education for the poor and the rich alike. You will now see the children of a rickshaw driver, a judge, an IAS officer, and so on sitting and studying on the same bench under the same roof in Delhi’s government schools. This has been a major revolution in the education sector which is hence bearing impressive results.”
He further said, “After having transformed the schools and the infrastructure, we are now working on the content – on what it is the students are being taught in these schools. We are questioning whether the existing academic syllabus is meaningful for the students, and whether this education will help our students sustain their livelihoods after they finish school. Hence, in that sector, a silent revolution is taking place in Delhi’s education sector. The mindset of students is being changed, and they are being motivated to grow into the ideas of not simply seeking jobs, but that of giving jobs. Hence, students are being prepared in the direction of becoming entrepreneurs and businesspeople. For this, we started an initiative called the Business Blasters program. Under this, a seed money of Rs. 2,000 per student is given to 11th and 12th graders, and they are then urged to ideate a startup. This leaves the possibility for groups of these students to come together to pool their 2,000 each in order to form strong business teams, to share and borrow ideas. You will be amazed at the kind of ideas these students have come up with as a result, and even gone ahead and started running businesses of their own thanks to this initiative – with a mere 2,000 per student, these young entrepreneurs have done wonders.”
The CM said, “I will share some of the ideas and businesses that these high school students have come up with, and you will be pleasantly surprised with the level of innovation that these young minds possess. After the initial phase of providing the seed money to students, their idea of businesses and eventual implementation and earning of profits, we held an investment summit for our students to showcase some of their startups. Country’s major investors and businesspeople were invited to this summit, to whom our students presented business plans, convincing them to invest. Students of class 11 and 12 had the opportunity to showcase their innovative business ideas to the country’s renowned industrialists and investors, and many of these ideas received on-the-spot investment. One such team of 5 students, who created a substitute for coffee and produced a caffeine-free energy drink, which tastes and smells like coffee, but instead is highly nutritious with iron, calcium, and antiviral qualities. 5 students with an initial investment of INR 10,000, turned this into profit and earned some INR 50,000. At the investment summit, the group received an investment of around INR 18 lacs. Another example – a group of 8 students innovated the creation of a new kind of wheelchair for which they earned an investment of 5.5 lacs, and they had already made some 60,000 rupees through this business idea of theirs. A group of 6 students developed a smart stick with sensors for the blind and deaf community, earned INR 17,500 and later received an investment of INR 5 lacs at the summit. There are numerous examples like these.”
He added, “In Delhi’s government schools, a total of 3 lac students study in the 11th and 12th class. These 3 lac students were given INR 2,000 each – which amounts to a total of 60 crores. Out of this seed money, the students came up with 52,000 business ideas of the likes that I described earlier – groundbreaking business plans. And now, each student is passionately attached to their entrepreneurial idea. I was wondering if this is the result we are seeing now, imagine how unexplored their potential for innovation has remained in the past. If each of these students works further on their ideas and develops them into successful business, we can only imagine the state of progress and flourishment that our state, and our nation will witness! Today, VC Prof. Dr. Mahesh Verma as well as Dy CM Shri Manish Sisodia are present with us on stage. I request and urge them to initiate the Business Blasters program in universities and colleges as well. While these 11th and 12th class students are exploring business ideas now – they are likely to join colleges after finishing school, after which the university education itself will weigh down on them, often posing obstacles in their entrepreneurial path. However, if the same program is started on a university level, a student will be prepared before earning their college degree itself about what they wish to achieve in future. The students will then be able to further explore their path within college, forming partnerships and establishing contacts if they choose to pursue their business ideas further. This will only help the students become more passionate and confident about their ideas.”
CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal continued, “I have another request – I believe the current education system that our students are involved in is very impersonal in nature. A teacher walks into a classroom, lectures, finishes the course; students give exams, earn their degrees, and that is it. I believe that each student is deserving of personal attention and honing of skills to prepare them for whatever it is they wish to achieve in future. Some students wish to go further with higher education, well and good. Graduates who wish to seek jobs should have their career programs develop in their college time itself, no student should be left behind – whether they want to start a business, get a job, or study more. While knowledge is a goal in itself, one has to have the means to run their household, the money at the end of the month to sustain their livelihood. There is little to no effort in the direction of preparing our students for this in universities. I believe that this target-oriented approach in education is the need of the hour, and every student that graduates from any college or university should have a concrete career plan in hand.”
The CM further stated, “Shri Manish Sisodia and I had some thorough discussions and interactions with the students who have developed their own innovative business ideas. It occurred to me that while the ideas have developed, and the investment has been secured – when these students step out of the comforts of their school and college life into the real world to truly run a business, they will have to deal with a number of obstacles, with the government, with other administrative hurdles – and that is going to be a challenge in itself. They will be forced to face the reality of jumping from department to department for one approval or the other. This entire administrative system which is in place also dates back to the British era. The British had instituted this system in order to trouble the Indians, and till today, this system continues to trouble the public. This arrangement and this entire system needs reform. A government model should be one that helps us solve our everyday troubles – if I wish to run a business, my government should aid me in taking it further, rather than adding obstacles in my path. However, our entire governance and administrative system is designed to cause hurdles and interruptions every step of the way for someone trying to achieve their goals, no matter what they are. This has to change.”
Shri Arvind Kejriwal concluded by saying, “In view of this, we have made changes in Delhi’s administrative system. For example, whenever one steps into a government office for some work, they are normally charged money at every step – no work takes place without bribery and corruption. We completely eradicated this mechanism in Delhi. We made the system such that no one needs to pay a visit to any government offices to get their work done. We instead issued a number, 1076. All you have to do is call this number, and the way one places an order for food delivery, we have ensured a system of doorstep delivery of services. Upon calling this number, you will receive the option of choosing the service they require from the Delhi Government; you can then communicate your needs, be it a Driving Licence, ration card, electricity connection etc; following this, an officer from the Delhi Government will reach your residence and ensure your work is done. You will not be required to take leave from work or stand in long lines or deal with bribe demanding officers. This way we have entirely transformed the system. Earlier the process of obtaining any government document would take weeks, sometimes months, with endless obstacles and corruption. We have to transform the state of the nation. It is the collective responsibility of all of us to take the country and society forward. No matter what it is you end up doing in life, you should take some time out for your country and for your society – to contribute to its progress. If we all come together in reforming and improving our nation, there is no obstacle big enough which will prevent India from flourishing. I once again pray for the success and happiness for all students gathered here today.”
Motivating the students graduating from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, to come forward and take up the challenges of society to resolve them, Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Shri Manish Sisodia said, “this is the first step that students graduating today from IP University are taking towards the real world. There are a lot of challenges at the other end. A lot of people going through several problems in society are waiting for educated people who would use their knowledge, thoughts and skills to resolve their issues.”
Appreciating the efforts and performance of the University during COVID times, Shri Sisodia said, “we all spent the last two years in COVID but despite all the barriers IP University and its students were determined and continued the process of education. When the world had stopped due to COVID, work on education was still in progress. Education has always been the priority of the CM Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi Government and we will continue to work on education with the same spirit. Recently the 8th budget was presented in the Delhi Legislative Assembly and this is the commitment of the Kejriwal Government towards education that it has always spent the maximum part of the budget on the education sector. While the students here were studying in schools or pursuing their degrees in the past seven years, the Delhi government was working hard on making the education sector hassle free and full of opportunities.”
He added, “when the Kejriwal Government took charge in 2015, the major challenge in front of the team was that out of 2.5 lakh students passing out of Class 12, from government as well as private schools, hardly 1 lakh could make it to the colleges like IP University, Delhi University etc. But in the past seven years a lot of work has been done on increasing the space for students in the higher education sector in Delhi. In IP University the total intake of students in 2015 was 28,000 and now it has reached to 38,000 per year. It is a great achievement in itself for IP University to create 10,000 more seats in just 7 years. Looking at the development of the higher education sector in Delhi since 2015, DPSRU was the first University to be established by the Kejriwal Government. In 2018, Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (NSIT) was expanded and converted into Netaji Subhas University of Technology (NSUT). In 2020, Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University (DSEU ) was established. In 2021, Delhi Sports University was established. In 2022, Delhi Teachers University was established. Several new campuses were opened for the existing state universities to accommodate the increasing number of students. These were the major expansions in the field of higher education. Along with this, even the intake of students was also increased in Delhi’s existing institutes such as intake in Delhi Technological University (DTU) was increased from 2600 in 2015 to 4105 in 2021. Intake in NSUT was increased from 913 students in 2014 to over 3000 in 2021. In Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (IGDTUW) the intake was increased from 300 students in 2014 to 1350 students in 2021.In Ambedkar University, these numbers were increased from 1800 students in 2014 to more than 4500 students in 2021. The idea behind keeping these numbers is to assure you that while students were busy studying for their degrees, the Delhi government was working hard to make the higher education sector better each day.”