Aam Aadmi Party, Punjab has took strong exception of children belonging to dalit and poor families and stood in favour of government aided and unaided private colleges.Principal Budh Ram MLA and Chairman of core committee and Rupinder Kaur Rubi MLA from Bathinda(rural) in a statement alleged that Congress Government and previous governments of SAD-BJP had selectively deprived the dalit and poor children of quality education and sidelined them in competitions under planned conspiracy. They said that as result of government policy, the education from primary to University level has been commercialized. The dalit and poor children were dependent on government aided and aided private colleges. Now the state government had financially paralyzed these institutions.The AAP MLAs said that present and previous governments had not released the crores of funds to aided and unaided colleges to be given under post-matric scholarship scheme for SC/ST students. They said that state and center governments owe Rs.1700 crores to alone unaided colleges for the financial years of 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19. As a result the private aided and unaided colleges are on verge of collapse and dalit and poor students were not able to avail the higher education.
Principal Budh Ram said that denying the right to compete and gain higher education was being done under a deep rooted conspiracy so that poor remain the poor and deprived of their social and economic rights.Ruby added that after 1981 no sanctioned post was created for 136 aided colleges where as the strength of students in these colleges has reached over 2 lakhs. In fact the Indian education was stagnated at the level of 1980 and politicians are showing false dreams of of digital age. Even 1925 teachers who were recruited with promise to give regular job after three years probation were not absorbed after completing the appointment terms.Ruby further stated that these colleges were working with the help of contractual teachers whoa re getting meager salaries. Most of aided andf unaided schools are working without principals because to teacher with 15 years experience is ready to work on basic salary of Rs.37400 while as per rules their salary shall be minimum rupees one lakh.The AAP leaders told the Punjab Government to adopt the education model of Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi.