NEW DELHI: The Government School Teachers Association (GSTA) has praised Delhi’s latest budget, calling it the best in 27 years. A day after Finance Minister Rekha Gupta presented her maiden budget on Tuesday, teachers lauded the 0allocation of 19% of the total budget, `19,291 crore,to the education sector, saying it will significantly benefit the Department of Education.
GSTA General Secretary Ajayveer Singh Yadav highlighted the announcement of 60 new CM Shri Schools as a key initiative, expected to deliver lasting educational outcomes. However, he cautioned against repeating past mistakes, referencing the previous government’s 2015 initiative, which declared 54 schools as Pilot Schools with investments of `14 to 20 crore each.
“Even after ten years, these schools failed to produce any significant innovation or progress, making the expenditure unproductive,” Yadav said. He added that the CM Shri School project has the potential to become a landmark reform, modeled after the Talent Development Schools established during the previous BJP government. Teachers also praised the focus on universities and technical institutions, welcoming the move to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) in schools.
“Integrating values like service and ethics will promote holistic character development alongside academic excellence. Continuing initiatives such as Youth Parliament will help instill democratic values in students,” the GSTA said in a statement.
The association also expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister and Education Minister, noting that nearly 80% of their suggestions were included in the budget. “We are extremely pleased that the government sought our input and incorporated most of our recommendations,” Yadav said.
Among the key proposals accepted is the establishment of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Language Labs in new schools. These labs will offer courses in English, Hindi, Sanskrit, French, German.