Jaipur: Angry words were exchanged in the Assembly Monday after school education minister Madan Dilawar made a controversial remark while responding to questions about vacancies in English-medium and Swami Vivekanand Model Schools opened during the previous Congress govt.Dilawar said that several schools were opened by the Congress govt without planning. “Some schools seem to have been opened by people under the influence of ‘bhaang’,” he said, referring to former education minister and current Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra.The remark triggered protests from the Opposition benches. Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully objected strongly, saying, “You are the education minister. What kind of reply is this? It appears you are the one speaking after consuming bhaang.”Dilawar claimed that 203 schools in Dotasra’s constituency, Laxmangarh, were converted into English-medium institutions without creating teaching posts.Dilawar made the remark while replying to a supplementary question raised by BJP MLA Mahant Balaknath during Question Hour. Dilawar alleged that the previous Congress govt converted 3,737 govt schools from primary to senior secondary levels into English-medium Mahatma Gandhi schools without creating teaching posts.“The Congress govt converted thousands of schools into English medium but did not create a single post for teachers. In some places, teachers were appointed who themselves did not study in English medium,” Dilawar said.Jully asked what happened to the cadre created for Mahatma Gandhi schools during the Congress regime. He also sought details of vacancies in Swami Vivekanand Model Schools.During the exchange, Dilawar said many schools had extremely low enrolment. “There are schools where there are 1, 2, or 10 students. Can all grades of teachers be appointed in such schools?” he asked, adding that teachers would be deployed based on need. Jully questioned if schools with small enrolments had no right to function. “Do children in schools with 10 or 20 students not have the right to education?” he asked, accusing the govt of failing to address rising dropout rates.
Dilawar’s ‘bhaang’ remark against Dotasra sparks heated exchange | Jaipur News
