The Delhi Teachers University Bill was introduced in the House on Monday by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio.
During the discussion on the bill, he said that the university would set a standard in the training of teachers and improve the quality of education. Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said the Sports University unveiled in Meerut copied the model announced in Delhi.
Sisodia said in the House, “I was very happy when the Prime Minister said that the students of the Sports University would excel in sports and achieve degrees by winning medals. This is what we set and said while setting up a sports university here in Delhi.”
Delhi Teachers University will be spread over 12 acres in Bakkarwala village. It will have lecture hall for 5000 students, digital lab and a library with world class facilities.
Sisodia had on January 1 visited the under-construction campus of the university in Bakkarwala and asked the officials to expedite the construction work so that the session could be started at the earliest.
To create a new generation of teachers, the university will offer teacher education programs like BA-BEd and BSc-BEd. University students will collaborate with Delhi Government Schools for the duration of their courses and gain experience with a focus on research.
Participating in the discussion on the bill, AAP MLA Atishi said that the Delhi government has done remarkable work in the field of education and teacher training.
He said that it not only improved the school infrastructure and education standards but also invested in the training of teachers.
“If we want to invest in teachers, we have to invest in their training. The Delhi government increased the budget for teacher training from Rs 10 crore to Rs 100 crore. Teachers and principals of government schools were sent to the best institutions like IIMs in India and abroad for training purposes by the AAP government,” Atishi said in the House.
He said that Delhi Teachers University would pave the way for world class training of teachers.
Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, however, alleged that the AAP government has not opened any new college in the last seven years.
“The government first announced a sports university and also appointed its vice-chancellor. But the university is nowhere,” Bidhuri said in the House.
He alleged that many government schools do not have principals and the posts of teachers are lying vacant.
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