The Delhi government on Saturday gave its approval for the constitution of a Delhi Board of School Education, announced Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The decision was taken during a Cabinet meet held on Saturday.

The establishment of the Delhi Board of School Education will not only bring revolutionary changes in the education system of Delhi but will also take the education system of the entire country to new heights, said the chief minister. The new board will not belong to any particular government, he added.

“The whole nation has witnessed revolutionary changes in the education system in Delhi over the past six years,” said Kejriwal.

“Every year, our government spends 25% of the state budget on education which has helped in bettering the facilities at schools. All government-run schools in Delhi now have better infrastructure, labs, auditoriums, toilets, etc,” he added.

The chief minister also said that teachers and principals of government schools were sent by the government to different countries across the world including the US and Finland for training purposes. Children were also sent for Olympiads across the globe and they returned with awards and medals.

There are around 1,000 government schools and 1,700 private schools in the national capital of which all government schools and most private schools are affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

In academic session 2021-22, the government will include 20-25 schools in the all-new Delhi Board, said Kejriwal, adding that the school’s CBSE affiliation will be scrapped and they will be affiliated to Delhi Board of School Education.

Schools will be selected after discussion with principals, teachers and parents. “We hope that all schools will voluntarily get affiliated to this board within 4-5 years,” he said.

The Board will have a governing body which will be chaired by the education minister. It will also have an executive body for its day-to-day function which will be headed by a CEO. Both the bodies will have experts from the industry, education sector, principals of government and private schools and bureaucrats, Kejriwal further said.