The Delhi government has asked the schools run by it to prepare their future strategies to bridge the learning gap that has widened due to the COVID-19 pandemic and said the focus of the schools should be on building “conceptual understanding”.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia held an interaction with the principals of the Delhi government schools on Thursday. It was attended by over 800 school principals from all across Delhi.

Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, instructed the principals to set minimum benchmarks in their schools regarding infrastructure, cleanliness and environment.

“We need to think about our future strategies now to bridge the learning gap that has widened due to the pandemic in the last two years. We need to start from the point where we left two years ago and strategise accordingly. There is no rush to complete the syllabus. The focus of the schools should be on building conceptual understanding,” Sisodia said.

He said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has done a lot of work on the schools in the last seven years and given a great model of education.

“It is the responsibility of the school heads to set their own accountability for their schools and ensure that nothing in the schools falls below the minimum benchmark set by them,” the deputy chief minister said.

For this, the government will provide all the necessary facilities and funds to the schools, he said, adding that Directorate of Education (DoE) officials will visit the schools from time to time.

The interaction between Sisodia and the principals was mostly centred around the academic priorities of the schools, cleanliness and maintenance of the classrooms and developing a positive classroom culture.

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