‘No child left behind’ may take some time. Till then, the Aam Aadmi Party government is ensuring ‘no school left behind’ – or even toilet. This week, the Bhagwant Mann government launched a 54-day 'Sikhya Kranti' or “a revolution to change the future of Punjab’s children”, lasting till May 31, as part of which about 25,000 small and big projects worth Rs 2,000 crore are to be inaugurated in 12,000 government schools. On the ground this has seen sprouting of plaques to mark everything from new schools to revamped classrooms and floor tiles, repaired boundary walls and refurbished toilets, so as to highlight the education policies of the AAP government. The budget for the inauguration drive is over Rs 20 crore, including Rs 12 crore approximately for the plaques and the rest for miscellaneous expenses for the events. An order by the Punjab Education Secretary clearly specifies that teachers must get separate plaques installed for each work, even if repairs. The plaques have to be made of granite and each carry the names of CM Mann, Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains and the local MLA. Since the funds haven’t been released yet, teachers are paying for the plaques for now out of their pockets. Four days hence, a single school bearing four to five plaques is not a surprise as AAP ministers and MLAs fan out to their constituencies and schools make arrangements as well as ensure media coverage of the same. The Opposition has questioned the Mann government’s priorities. On Thursday, the BJP dubbed ‘Punjab Sikhya Kranti’ the ‘Udghatan Kranti (Inauguration Revolution)’, accusing the Mann government of "failing" to bring any real improvement in the education sector. Punjab BJP general secretary Anil Sarin told reporters: "AAP MLA Labh Singh Ugoke inaugurated the repaired toilet of a Government Senior Secondary School. It is even mentioned on the inauguration plaque. What kind of 'kranti' is it?" Sarin also asked Mann and Bains to disclose from where the funds earmarked to be spent on government schools are coming from, pointing out that the Centre has provided funds to Punjab under 'Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan' for various works, including upgradation of infrastructure in schools, opening new schools and smart classes, as well as funds under the PM Shri Scheme. Rivals say the AAP government campaign also carries the stamp of the party’s Delhi leadership, which has been focused on Punjab, the only state under it now. The party’s newly named Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia’s name figures in the plaque that marks the inauguration of a School of Eminence in Nawanshahr, on the first day of the campaign. "In which capacity was Sisodia’s name mentioned?” asked Sarin. Reacting to plaques being set up for toilet revamps too, former deputy CM and Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Badal said there is “no limit to the shamelessness of Bhagwant Mann”. Congress leader Simarjeet Singh Bains posted on X: “The AAP had promised an end to VIP culture and was against the practice of laying foundation stones. But today it is laying stones for repairing toilets. Till today in my political career, I have not seen a party laying stones for repairing toilets. This is the badlaav (change) that was left for Punjabis to see.” On Sisodia’s name on a school plaque, Congress MLA and former education minister Pargat Singh said: “Mann ji… you are imposing the names of rejected leaders of Delhi in the official works of Punjab.” In a post on X, he wrote: “Bhagwant Mann govt has proudly become the first to launch a ‘Revolution of Toilet Repairs’. Has any other state ever witnessed such a groundbreaking revolution?” Congress Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said: "Welcome to ‘ribbon kranti’ where political photo-ops shine brighter than classroom lights… when nameplates outnumber notebooks and inaugurations outshine infrastructure." BJP national secretary Tarun Chugh asked why Punjab's public funds were being “misused to promote (AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal) and Sisodia”. Earlier, a plaque put up to mark the renovation of a Civil Hospital in Ludhiana carried Kejriwal’s name. The Mann government has, in fact, lately showered attention on Ludhiana, where the Ludhiana West Assembly constituency is scheduled for a bypoll. The speculation is that the Rajya Sabha seat which will be vacated by AAP candidate Sanjeev Arora to contest the bypoll would go to Kejriwal, who lost in the Delhi Assembly elections. Mann has countered the Opposition saying he does not believe in making “a business out of schools”, unlike the others. Sisodia has said Opposition parties in Punjab should "feel ashamed" for speaking against the AAP given that it has done "so much work both in Delhi and Punjab". "The BJP should think about the schoolchildren of Delhi (where it is currently in power), not Punjab. Mann has been trusted by parents in Punjab for the future of their children," said Sisodia. Education Minister Bains said Punjab’s children were “thriving”. “We inherited approximately 20,000 government schools in deplorable conditions… Today, nearly every government school in Punjab has boundary walls, functional and separate toilets for girls and boys, furniture, drinking water facilities and 90% have WiFi connectivity.” On the inauguration drive, he said: “What is the problem in advertising if we have done good work?" Opposition leaders have also attacked the campaign for the fact that Mann seems to have changed his position from the time he was the Sangrur MP. At the time, he criticised the fact that plaques carried names of politicians, and argued that they should instead bear names of the labourers and masons involved in the construction of the structure concerned. An AAP MLA feared that the Opposition’s charges could hit home. "Yesterday, I inaugurated three plaques in one school, just a few meters apart. It actually felt like a publicity circus, that too in a school… Why are plaques required for renovated works? This overdrive may backfire."
