School land auction to take education beyond common man's reach:BJP

New Delhi, July 1 (UNI) With commercialisation of higher education, the Delhi Development Authority's decision to auction land for schools here would further take school education out of the common man's reach, the BJP said today.

Calling the move as ''anti-poor and anti-people'', former union minister and BJP leader Vijay Goel said he apprised Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy on the drawbacks of the DDA's decision, which according to him ''would make school education even more expensive and beyond the ordinary citizen's reach''.

''The move would increase school fees manifold which will force children from poor families to opt out of education,'' he added.

Threatening to begin an agitation, involving even the city's parents' bodies, if this 'commercialisation of education' at the lower level did not stop immediately, Mr Goel said if the government was serious about not commercialising education, it should itself build schools on the land it proposes to sell.

''The government claims to have a better standard of education in schools run by it, best teachers in town and results excelling those of public schools, then why is it shying away from opening more schools and providing inexpensive education to the people of Delhi rather than selling land and forcing school fees to spiral upwards.'' Just like the government has decided against alloting or auctioning sites for primary education, it should also do the same for secondary and senior secondary schools, he said adding land for schools must go only for government schools and not public schools which was making education an elite indulgence, Mr Goel said.

''Delhi should not become a place for the rich alone and the BJP would fight the move tooth and nail,'' he added.

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