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A Draft Road Map to Improve the

Primary Education & Health in Delhi

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Municipal Corporations are responsible for primary education in Delhi. The three

MCDs run more than 1700 primary schools across Delhi. However, MCD schools

suffer from poor learning outcomes leading to poor perception among parents and

declining enrolment over the years. MCD schools also face significant

infrastructural and human resource constraints, which is perplexing given that the

three MCDs are unable to utilize the funds allocated for education. It is evident that

significant improvement in the governance of MCD schools is required.

Declining Trend of Enrolment in MCD Schools

MCD enrolment has declined by more than 50,000 students in the course of two

years.

Year 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

Total Number of

Students

8,69,540 8,39,040 8,18,707

Overworked Teachers and Neglected Students

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009

mandates a Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) of 30:1 for primary schools. However, all

MCD schools have a high PTR between 37:1 and 42:1. This situation is further

exacerbated due to inequitable distribution of teachers across schools

Investing in Delhizens – Education For All

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Municipal

Corporation

Number of

Schools

Enrolment Teachers PTR

NDMC 734 330,313 8,276 40:1

SDMC 588

274,296

7,322 37:1

EDMC 387

214,098

5,129

42:1

Total 1701 818,707 20,727 40:1

Congress envisions a complete overhaul of education under MCDs. It

plans to introduce major institutional reforms by instituting

supervisory bodies to ensure quality education to the students, to train

the teachers and to encourage active participation of local

communities around the schools .

Institutional Reforms

1. Setting up of an ‘Empowered Group for Quality Education’ to monitor

Schools

After coming to power, the Congress, in each Corporation, will setup an

empowered group of persons consisting of experienced former principals, experts

from the field of education (India), experts having atleast 15 years of international

experience in the field of education (preferably Governmental experience),

representatives/ guardians of students, representatives of NGOs and

representatives from MCsD.

Function: The said group will be entrusted to advise & improve the quality of

education in MCD and primary schools in Delhi. The group will meet weekly to

constantly watch the functioning and performance of all schools imparting primary

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education in the city. It shall also be responsible to direct the Education Department

to fill in the vacacies of teachers and necessary staff in schools.

First meeting: The First meeting of the empowered group will be convened within

one week of the Congress Party attaining majority in the MCsD and the purpose of

the said meeting shall be to prepare a roadmap to bring back lakhs of children who

had quit education from MCD schools in last 10 years of the BJP rule.

Monthly Report: The empowered group will submit a monthly report to the

Mayor and Commissioner, MCD, who shall be responsible to implementing the

recommendations of the empowered group.

2. Partner-School Matching

Understanding the unique needs of each school, the MCD will strategically match

the private primary/ local schools/ learning centreas and those community-based

organizations having atleast 15 years’ experience in the field of education.

Those community-based organisation which volunteer to help the MCsD in

monitoring private/ unrecognised schools, will be requested to submit quarterly

reports directly to the empowered group for necessary corrections in the said

schools.

Through this exercise the MCsD will ensure that even the level of private primary

learning centres imparting elementary education is upto the mark and at par with

Navyug Schools of NDMC.

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Under this scheme, NGOs will be invited to impart primary education for children.

The standard of these schools will also be monitored by the empowered group,

along-with the MCD schools.

3. Delhi City Leadership Academy (DCLA)

DCLA institute will be setup using the unutilized land banks of the MCD. DCLA

will be the premier institute of the MCD for training of existing and new teachers/

principals, in order to enable them meet world standards of primary education.

DCLA will consist of master coaches -teachers and academicians having vast

experience in field of education, both in India and abroad.

The empowered group will oversee the selection process of master coaches.

In the first phase, DCLA will launch the ‘Aspiring Principals Program

(APP)’ a program that will use experiential learning methods to

develop the real-world skills necessary for effective school

leadership. The program will help aspiring leaders become the change agents

who can inspire teachers and foster educational equity.

Child-focused Learning

Most students in MCD schools come from the poorest and most marginalised

communities. It is thus important for schools to respond to their needs to ensure

that students are able to learn and at-risk groups do not drop out. The following

measures will be taken:

1. Pre-school classes will be provided at the community level to ensure that children

who join in Class I have pre-literacy and numeracy capabilities.

2. Bridge courses for out of school kids will be provided.

3. Efforts will be made to make learning inclusive for children with disabilities

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4. MCD schools only function till Class 5 whereupon students must transfer to Delhi

Government run schools. Many students drop out in this transition. Institutional

support will be provided to ensure seamless transfer from MCD-run school to

Delhi Government school.

5. Parental Support: Special workshops for the parents on social behaviour patterns,

gender sensitization, after-school support of the child etc

6. To encourage enrolment and prevent dropouts for girl children from BPL

families, a fix deposit of Rs 1000/- per child will be created on enrolment, which

could be en-cashed only after graduation from high school (given enrolment

numbers, this is likely to be too expensive unless funded externally)

Teachers

Teachers are the most important aspect of education with a well-trained and

motivated teacher pivotal to respond to the child’s individual learning requirements.

Conversely the absence of a good teacher can do little to promote satisfactory

learning outcomes in the child despite excellent classrooms and other infrastructural

inputs. It is thus unfortunate that an adversarial conception of the teacher-student

relationship has been built up among the public at large leading to a framework

which seeks to penalize the teacher instead of providing support and incentives for

better performance. Congress-run MCDs will provide a respectful and

supportive environment for its teachers to empower and enable them

to provide the best education to their students:

1. Vacancies: Around 6500 teacher vacancies will be filled to ensure compliance

with the RTE mandated PTR of 30:1. Moreover, distribution of teachers will be

equitable across schools.

2. Training: A review in consultation with the SCERT will be undertaken to

overhaul in-service training for MCD teachers.

3. Capacity Building and Support: Teacher Support Centers - a voluntary center

for teachers to access resources, share experiences and build support groups

with other teachers working in similar circumstances - will be set up in every

district.

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4. Timely disbursement of Salaries.

5. Recruitment rules: a committee of education experts will be constituted to

review recruitment rules and make amendments where necessary

Infrastructure

1. Small children in many schools have to sit on the cold floor during winter

months. Adequate desks and chairs will be purchased for every child.

2. Safety and security audit of every school will be done in consultation with

teachers and parents and requisite improvements will be undertaken forthwith.

3. Separate toilets for girls and boys will be built in all schools.

4. Pucca buildings for all schools will be ensured.

5. Purified drinking water will be made available in all schools

Teaching and Learning Material

1. Printing quality of books will be ensured

2. There will be timely disbursement of books and uniform

3. One workbook will be provided to all students

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Mid Day Meals (MDM)

1. Audit of all organisations providing mid-day meals will be undertaken.

2. Review of MDM will be done to ensure compliance with prescribed nutritional

standards

Community Participation

1. School Management Committee (SMC) will be strengthened to improve parental

participation and oversight of schools. Moreover, mechanisms for wider

community participation will be ensured in recognition of the legitimate stake of

the larger community in improving public schools.

2. Schools will host quarterly exhibitions and performances to enable

neighbourhood residents to visit and see student’s work.

3. Institutional tie-ups with reputed private schools, colleges and other educational

institutions to involve their teachers/ students to do voluntary teaching/ engaging

in different ways with MCD schools.

Sports

1. All schools will have dedicated PE teachers.

2. Linkages with various sports coaches and academies to conduct sports camps

on weekends for interested school students.

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Chaos and Lack of Accountability in Providing Health

Services in Delhi

Multiple Agencies: Multiple government agencies at different levels provide health

care in Delhi: the Central Government through the Ministry of Health and Family

Welfare, the Government of NCT of Delhi (Directorate of Health Services and

Directorate of Family Welfare), and three local government bodies, through the

Delhi Municipal Corporations (MCD), the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC)

and the Delhi Cantonment Board (DCB). At present there is no coordination between

these agencies leading to patient harassment and overall degradation of public

health.

Overlapping Jurisdictions: All levels of Government (Central, State and

Municipal) operate health services at all levels leading to poor allocation of

resources and expertise.

Primary Health Centres (PHCs) or Dispensaries, the first line of defence in public

health are run by the MCD, Delhi Government and the Central Government. This

has led to a situation where despite adequate number of PHCs at the aggregate state

level, some areas are over-serviced while others woefully neglected. At the same

time, North MCD also operates six big hospitals at Rs 652 crores per year.

Making Delhi Healthier- Thrust on Primary Health

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Chaos and Lack of Accountability in Providing Health

Services in Delhi

Multiple Agencies: Multiple government agencies at different levels provide health

care in Delhi: the Central Government through the Ministry of Health and Family

Welfare, the Government of NCT of Delhi (Directorate of Health Services and

Directorate of Family Welfare), and three local government bodies, through the

Delhi Municipal Corporations (MCD), the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC)

and the Delhi Cantonment Board (DCB). At present there is no coordination between

these agencies leading to patient harassment and overall degradation of public

health.

Overlapping Jurisdictions: All levels of Government (Central, State and

Municipal) operate health services at all levels leading to poor allocation of

resources and expertise.

Primary Health Centres (PHCs) or Dispensaries, the first line of defence in public

health are run by the MCD, Delhi Government and the Central Government. This

has led to a situation where despite adequate number of PHCs at the aggregate state

level, some areas are over-serviced while others woefully neglected. At the same

time, North MCD also operates six big hospitals at Rs 652 crores per year.

Making Delhi Healthier- Thrust on Primary Health

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Utterly inefficient and apathetic MCD

1. Shortage of stuff: There is a shortage 57 staff in hospitals that operate under

SDMC , 564 vacant positions in health department in EDMC and 36 vacancies

in NMCD.

2. Inability to spend allotted budget (source: MCDs):

3. Out of 250 Lakh budget for purchase of medicines and medical equipment in

Ayurvedic dispensaries in 2016-17, only Rs. 1,25,456 has been spent in

SDMC.

4. 10 Lakh was budgeted for purchase of medicines and medical equipment in

Homeopathic dispensaries in 2016-17, only Rs. 99847 has been spent in

SDMC.

5. No new equipment was purchased in last 5 years for dispensaries in SDMC.

6. No fund was given to dispensaries in last 5 years in SDMC.

7. In 2015-16, Rs. 785 lakhs was allocated for various hospitals under Ayush in

NMCD; however only Rs. 359.78 lakhs was utilized. In 2016-17, Rs.955

Lakhs were allocated and 301.48 lakhs were utilized, remaining budget

lapsed.

8. Inablity to check vector borne diseases: The manifold rise in the number of

people affected by degue and chickungunia in last two years is alarming and

indicative of complete lack of political will and inability to coordinate

between multiple agencies. Number of Chikungunya increased from 8 in 2014

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to 11,192 in 2016; Dengue: from 995 in 2014 to 3778 in 2016 (Source: Dept

of National Vector Borne Disease Control Program, MoHFW, GOI)

Delhi Congress’ 10 point Action Plan for MCD:

“Health for All”: Congress-run MCD will provide primary health

services to the entire population of Delhi free of charge, in a safe,

respectful and dignified manner.

1. Augmentation and Upgradation of Primary Health Clinics (PHCs)

i) All hospitals run by the MCD will be transferred to the Delhi Government

thereby saving the MCD Rs 652 crores every year. At the same time, the

MCD is willing to take ownership of all PHCs currently being operated

by the state and central governments

ii) All health Centres of the MCD will be upgraded to meet the Primary

Urban Health Centre (PUHC) norms of Delhi Government, framed in

2010. All MCD health centre lacking basic laboratory, x-ray, test facilities

or curative, preventive and promotive services, will be augemented within

three months of Congress forming Government in MCsD.

iii) PHCs will be mapped and reorganised to ensure equitable distribution and

coverage of the entire population of Delhi.

iv) While referral services to secondary and tertiary health providers are

outside the ambit of the MCD, the Congress will map its PHCS along

these facilities and attempt to set-up a mechanism in coordination with

state and central governments

v) PHC operating hours will be expanded as per PHC norms and all PHCs

will be adequately staffed by qualified physicians, nurses, health workers

and technicians.

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vi) PHCs will stock all essential medicines appropriate for primary health

care and will provide all basic diagnostic tests.

vii) Adequate ANMs and ASHA workers will be deployed in Maternal and

Child Welfare (MNCW) centres with slums and resettlement colonies

receiving priority

viii) School Health Clinics will be scaled up to ensure proper school health

check-ups, follow-up and treatment

2. Prevention and Control of Vector Borne Diseases such as Dengue and

Malaria

Dengue and Malaria have reached epidemic proportions in Delhi. Despite awareness

that vector borne diseases have seasonal peaks (post monsoon in August through

October), last two years saw woeful lack of preparedness and effective response on

the part of the BJP-run MCDs and AAP’s Delhi Government.

There is significant overlap between sanitation and primary health care systems to

prevent incidence of vector borne diseases. Congress has presented a comprehensive

roadmap for sanitation in Delhi

i) The Congress Party will prepare and publish a comprehensive epidemic

control, prevention and response plan for vector borne diseases with

specific focus on JJs, resettlement colonies and other vulnerable

communities

ii) Ensure testing and treatment of Dengue/Malaria etc cases at all PHCs

iii) Setting up of a Special Task Force to fight mosquito menace in Delhi. 27

Task Forces will be setup in groups of 10 wards and every such task force

will be headed by the Deputy Commissioner (MCD) of that area. The task

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force will also have representatives from RWAs, Market Associations,

NGOs etc.

3. Affordable Medicines Through Fair Price Pharmacies: Large numbers of

patients continue going to private OPD leading to significant out of pocket

expenses for them.

i) The MCD will open fair price pharmacies which will stock generic

medicines of good quality and fair price in all MCD hospitals and

credible hospitals run by NGOs/Institutions/Co-operative Societies.

ii) The Congress Party in MCD will establish flagship stores on the

platform of the current Janaushadhi Scheme launched by the

Government of India in 2008.

4. Setting up PHCs in all Metro stations to ensure vicinity based public access

and immediate health service to the passengers in case of emergencies.

5. “Clinics on wheels” services will be augmented and upgraded, and

“Diagnostic Centres on Wheels”, will be introduced targeted to provide

basic diagonosis facilities and quality Public health care services to Delizens

residing in slums, unauthorised colonies and to homeless people.

6. Promotion of health: To work with, and engage all medical practitioners,

Healthcare agencies, and communities to understand and improve health

through community-based interventions and public participation. Special

camps for Yoga, alternative medicine and naturopathy will be held regularly

in MCD parks

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7. Strengthening the delivery mechanism by doubling the number of our

facilities in next 3 years, and by adding team of doctors, nurses, attendants

etc…so that each of these facility is operating to optimum and 24X7

8. Digital platform will be created for integration of the entire public healthcare

delivery infrastructure to assess, monitor and reach in fastest mode possible

and address the challenges at hand.

9. Special Measures for Children, Senior Citizens and Women

i) After Congress Party forms Government in MCsD, Eight lac plus students

studying in MCD schools will be given free health insurance under group

insurance schemes. The said scheme will also be extended to those institutes

which partner with MCsD under the ‘Partner School-Matching Programme’.

ii) Setting up of special Day Care Centres for the elderly with provision of

multiple services like physical fitness regimes, recreation etc

iii) Day and night crèches offering complete childcare and must be accessible to

all especially to the mothers engaged in informal and unorganised sectors.

iv) Special healthcare facilities for women: to be completely monitored,

managed and with women doctors and support staff. The focus of these

healthcare facilities would be on ailments and specific healthcare

requirements of the women. Marriage counselling for young brides to help

them understand family planning, safeguarding themselves from sexually

transmitted diseases.

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10. Community Monitoring and Grievance Redress

Setting up of ‘Health Watch Group’ on Ward Level

i) Health Watch Groups (HWG) will work as eyes and ears of the

Municipal Corporation and will be in constant touch with the Municipal

Councillor & Deputy Commissioner of the area.

ii) It will be mandatory for the Municipal Councillor and Deputy

Commissioner to hold a fortnightly meeting with the said group and

dispose of the concerns raised by the group in writing within 7 days of

the meeting.

iii) In addition to the general public, the said group will be enstasked to

report health concerns of their respective areas to higher authorities in

the Corporation for organised planning and action on such issues.

iv) The members of the said group will also be responsible for facilitating

general counselling and health check-ups of kids by MCsD.

v) The said group will contain members of various RWAs, Gram

Panchayats, market/ trader’s association and concerned MCD health

officials of the areas.

vi) People’s participation and monitoring of PHCs will be ensured through

Ward Committees.

vii) Grievance-redress mechanism will be set up for every ward to ensure

independent oversight of all PHCs.