61% prefer sending kids to Delhi govt school: Survey

Such has been the improvement in the standard of education in Delhi government schools that as many as 61 per cent respondents said they would prefer sending their children to a government school over a private one, according to the Neta App Janata Barometer Survey conducted just before the February 8 Assembly elections.

Neta App on Wednesday released the findings of the Survey that measures the performance of Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi over the past years.

The survey was based on the responses of over 40,000 citizens across all 70 Delhi constituencies between January 20-27 to gauge the public verdict on the performance of the AAP government in key performance areas of education and health.

Similar to the high approval ratings on education, the performance of healthcare under Chief Minister Kejriwal has received considerable support.

In an astonishing revelation, the survey found that 61 per cent would prefer sending their child to a government school over private schools.

The performance of the Delhi government schools has been a showcase segment for Kejriwal and education is one of the key areas which the government had identified for its focus given the division of powers between the Centre and Delhi.

While the AAP has projected the turnaround in Delhi government schools as a major achievement, the opposition BJP has been critical of its performance and recently released videos showing some schools in a shabby condition.

As per the survey, 76 per cent respondents are satisfied with the quality of education being offered at Delhi government schools. 84 per cent also conveyed satisfaction with government school infrastructure.

Asked about the improvement observed over the last 5 years, a whopping 82 per cent said that the quality of education and related facilities has gone up. Two constituencies Rohini and Vishwas Nagar that had gone the BJP's way in 2015 also shared the same opinion.

As per the survey, for Delhi government schools, the top satisfied constituencies are New Delhi (AAP), Rohini (BJP), Vishwas Nagar (BJP), Rajinder Nagar (AAP), Babarpur (AAP) and Burari (AAP).

The picture is not so rosy in some other seats held by AAP. Seats where there is the most dissatisfaction are the AAP-held seats of Trilokpuri, Ghonda, Badli, Malviya Nagar (All AAP)

There are also high approval ratings for the Kejriwal government in healthcare.

According to the Neta App Survey, 80 per cent respondents believe that healthcare in Delhi has become more accessible under the AAP.

On the quality of services provided at Mohalla Clinics, as many as 69 per cent respondents conveyed satisfaction while the rest were dissatisfied. Interestingly, people from Rohini and Vishwas Nagar, which are BJP seats, also showed satisfaction with the Mohalla clinics.

Despite the wide popularity of Mohalla clinics, the footfalls are low. The survey found that 68 per cent of respondents said they have never visited one while 25 per cent and 7 per cent said they have sought medical help at a Mohalla clinic once and more than once, respectively.

A majority of respondents from the Chief Minister's turf, New Delhi, have visited a Mohalla clinic more than once.

The top satisfied constituencies were New Delhi (AAP), Rohini (BJP), Vishwas Nagar (BJP), Patel Nagar (AAP), Wazirpur (AAP) and Okhla (AAP). The most dissatisfied constituencies were Ghonda, Bawana, Narela, Greater Kailash, Mundka - all seats held by AAP.

The AAP government has rolled out a number of mohalla clinics as a major initiative of the government. Kejriwal refused to implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme saying that the healthcare facilities being provided by the government are much superior to the Central government scheme, introduced by the Modi government.

The BJP, on the other hand, has been attacking Kejriwal for not implementing the scheme in Delhi while other states are taking advantage of it.

( With inputs from IANS )