Free JEE, NEET training in govt schools in Punjab: Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of the AAP, offered Punjab government school pupils free tutoring for the JEE and NEET exams if his party is brought to power. 'Ye Punjab main Bhi karenge (will do this in Punjab too),' stated Kejriwal, tagging a post on a similar initiative launched in Delhi.

The Directorate of Education (DoE) and 'Avanti Fellows' have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to prepare students for the entrance exams.

Deputy Chief Minister, Manish Sisodia said, "In the first year of the programme, 6,000 children of classes XI-XII selected from Delhi government schools will be provided free coaching for the preparation of various entrance examinations, through test series, necessary academic support for these examinations, and regular mentoring during preparation."

"Earlier, this free coaching programme was introduced in a few schools, on a pilot basis, and the results were excellent. More than 160 girls from SC and ST categories are getting free coaching for NEET by experts, under this programme," he also added.

Many children, according to Sisodia, who is also the Delhi education minister, aspire to obtain higher education from the best medical or engineering institutes in order to become doctors or engineers.

"But their parents are not able to afford expensive coachings. Now, this picture is set to change in Delhi. With this step of the government, thousands of future doctors-engineers, scientists, STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) experts, among others, will now be prepared in the government schools of Delhi, who will make India proud globally," he further concluded. 

In all Delhi government institutions, more than 30,000 students are enrolled in the Science stream.

On Wednesday, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Channi, who is also the Congress' chief ministerial candidate for the next assembly elections, attacked Bhagwant Mann, calling him an alcoholic and challenging his competence to rule the state after taking 'three years to finish 12th standard.' Mann is the Aam Aadmi Party's chief ministerial candidate in Punjab, and he has previously been involved in alcohol-related problems.

“Bhagwant Mann is a drunkard and illiterate person. He passed 12th class in three years. How can we give command of Punjab to such a person?”Channi quoted.

Meanwhile, Sukhbir Singh Badal, the chairman of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), warned people not to trust the AAP and its leader Arvind Kejriwal, who just wants to fool them with grandiose promises, as former chief minister Amarinder Singh did previously. The SAD president made the remarks while speaking to crowds in Dharamkot and Nihalsinghwala for Tota Singh and Baldev Singh Manuke, respectively.

In 2017, Punjabis gave the Aam Aadmi Party a chance by electing 20 of its legislators, making it the state's main opposition party. Rather than fighting for the welfare of Punjabis, 11 of the state's 20 parliamentarians have joined the Congress party. He claimed that you can no longer put your trust in the AAP with your vote. On the AAP's pledges, Badal stated that if the party is elected, free electricity for farmers will be taken away. Punjabis should be aware that the Delhi model meant that farmers in the state would lose their access to free electricity. He also stated that the AAP will not prolong social welfare programs initiated by the SAD, including the old-age pension, 'Aata-daal', and 'Shagun' schemes. He claimed that the AAP government in Delhi was not providing even a single rupee to women as a welfare gesture, while promising women in Punjab Rs 1,000 per month.

Thousands of contractual employees in Delhi have been protesting for the past eight years, demanding regularization, according to Badal. I don't see how Kejriwal can offer regularization of contractual employees in Punjab when he has previously stated that regularized staff don't work, according to the leader.