Delhi BJP chief Vijay Goel on Monday asked chief minister Sheila Dikshit to order an independent probe into the allegations of education department encouraging use of unfair means to show good results. Ms Dikshit had rejected the BJP’s allegations and slammed the party for “belittling” citizens.
Mr Goel said Ms Dikshit and education minister Kiran Walia were indulging in rhetoric to give an emotional overtone to the issue but refuse to answer questions put forth by him.
On Saturday, quoting findings of a survey conducted by his party, Mr Goel had alleged a “massive fraud” in education department and claimed that often teachers are “forced” to keep on pushing students to next level due to pressure from higher-ups even though they are not eligible to be promoted.
He had also accused the government of fudging attendance records of students.
“We are demanding an independent inquiry by a three-member committee of sitting or retired judges. If the chief minister is so confident (that nothing wrong happened) then what stops her from ordering a probe,” he said.
Responding to Ms Dikshit’s remarks, he said, “I challenge the chief minister to have a debate with me on this issue on any independent forum. They refuse to answer why 80 government schools were shutdown.”
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Oncologist named for shastri excellence award
Age Correspondent
New Delhi, July 8
Dr Rajendra Achyut Badwe, director, Tata Memorial Centre, and professor & head, department of surgical oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, has been chosen for the prestigious Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academics and Management 2013, said convener of the 12-member jury, former Union minister Anil Shastri.
Dr Badwe has been selected for his contribution to the field of medicine.
The award, instituted by Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, Delhi, carries a cash award of `5 lakhs, a citation and a plaque. Additionally, the awardee is designated as Lal Bahadur Shastri Fellow and his/her name is inscribed on the honours roll of LBSIM. The award will be given by the President of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in October.