Delhi Assembly elections: Number of schools falls and e-buses soars

In terms of education, the number of schools in Delhi declined by 3.4 per cent to 5,497 during the five-year period ending 2023-24

Besides cash transfers for women, the Delhi Assembly elections are being contested on the plank of education, health, free rides for women in state-run buses, and other factors, including free electricity for households up to a specified threshold.

 

In terms of education, the number of schools in Delhi declined 3.4 per cent to 5,497 during the five-year period ended in 2023-24. Except for schools up to the senior secondary level, all other categories saw a decrease. However, this includes all types of schools, not just those owned by the Delhi government.

 

Despite this, Delhi recorded a gross enrolment ratio (GER) — the proportion of student enrolment in a specific level of education to the population of the age group most appropriate for that level — of more than 100 per cent for all classes except for XI and XII.

 

A GER greater than 100 per cent might indicate the presence of overage or underage children in a particular level of education. According to the latest Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report, the number of available schools in Delhi is significantly lower compared to the number of enrolled students, indicating a higher number of students per school.

 

In terms of health care facilities, the number of allopathic hospitals owned by the Delhi government increased to 36 at the end of 2020 from 34 a year earlier, and has remained the same since then. The number of hospitals in other streams, such as homoeopathic and ayurvedic/unani, has remained constant at two each.

 

There has been some misconception about the number of buses under the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) on which women are entitled to free rides. The total number of buses in the fleet rose by around 16 per cent during the five-year period ended in 2023-24, following a marginal decline in 2020-21. Meanwhile, the average number of buses on the road daily increased 6 per cent, despite a fall in the initial years. The number of buses running on fuels other than electricity decreased, but these were more than offset by the introduction of electric buses in 2022-23.