Daily Briefing: AAP’s ‘education reform’ faces trust deficit

On that note, let’s get to the rest of today’s edition. 👇

🚨 Big Story

Four years after the Aam Aadmi Party swept to power in Punjab in 2022 on the promise of a “Sikhya Kranti” or education revolution based on its Delhi model, an investigation by The Indian Express has raised questions about the party leadership’s confidence in the public school system it pledged to transform. While Punjab has recorded improvements in learning levels and now performs better on several parameters, the report found that only one AAP MLA sends their child to a government school, with 30 of 31 MLAs with school-going children opting for private institutions. Many have enrolled their children in elite schools such as The Doon School, The Lawrence School and The Scindia School, while others prefer high-end schools in Chandigarh. The investigation also found that several MLAs moved their children to elite private schools after getting elected, citing reasons such as better exposure, English-medium education, peer environment and teacher shortages for choosing private education, highlighting the gap between the government’s reform claims and the choices of its own lawmakers.

Leading by example: Sukhveer Singh Maiserkhana, the AAP MLA from Maur in Bathinda, is the only MLA in Punjab with school-going children studying in government schools in the 2025–26 academic session. His son attends a School of Eminence in Ram Nagar while his daughter studies in a government primary school in Maiserkhana village. Maiserkhana said the decision was meant to keep his children connected to their community and mother tongue, Punjabi, and to build public confidence in government schools. After he moved his son from a private convent school during the Covid period, he said around 50 more families in the area followed, creating a “chain reaction.” Read.

School reform: In an interview with The Indian Express, Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said the education system will truly change when MLAs and influential people send their children to government schools. Bains asserted that good infrastructure, academic quality and public trust are key factors that can encourage parents to choose government schools over private institutions adding that the social trust will increase when leaders themselves rely on government schools for their children’s education.

⚡ Only in Express

“We remain on standby 24 hours”

Over 50 threat emails targeting schools and institutions in Delhi have been reported over the past two years, keeping the Delhi Police bomb squad on its toes. The threats have targeted more than 500 schools and institutions, prompting evacuations and large-scale security checks each time. Bomb disposal squads, dog squads, fire teams and local police units are routinely deployed to sweep campuses following such emails. While most of the threats have turned out to be hoaxes, each incident triggers full security protocols, disrupting classes and causing panic among parents and students. Investigators say over 35 emails were sent from different IDs, many containing provocative messages such as “Delhi banega Khalistan.” The latest threat on February 23 targeted Army schools, the Delhi Secretariat, the Assembly and the Speaker’s office. Police say tracing the senders remains difficult due to anonymous email accounts, VPNs and foreign servers masking the origin of the messages. Read.

📰 From the Front Page

Odisha fire: At least 10 people were killed in a fire that broke out at the ICU of trauma care centre of Odisha’s premier SCB medical college and hospital in Cuttack. As per eye witnesses, the fire broke out between 2:30 am to 3 am. Though the exact cause of fire is yet to be ascertained, officials said it could be due to a short circuit. Several patients, who were on ventilator support at the ICU died due to suffocation even though the fire brigade reached the spot immediately and managed to douse the fire. The exact number of deaths is yet to be confirmed by the SCB authorities. The other patients were immediately shifted to the ICU of other wards of the medical college even as many of their conditions are stated to be critical. Read.

Bengal polls: The upcoming West Bengal Assembly election, scheduled in two phases on April 23 and 29, is expected to be shaped by several key factors. Around 60 lakh voters are currently under adjudication in the electoral roll revision process, leaving the final voter list unsettled as campaigning begins. Supplementary lists may continue until the last date of nominations, creating uncertainty about the final electorate. The Trinamool Congress (TMC), seeking a fourth consecutive term after nearly 15 years in power, faces the challenge of grassroots anti-incumbency despite its strong performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and may field new candidates to refresh its image. Meanwhile, the BJP aims to convert its earlier electoral gains into a decisive victory by expanding support among different caste and social groups. Read. 

🎧 For more on LPG supply concerns, China’s villages near LAC, and five states head to polls, tune in to today’s ‘3 Things’ podcast episode.

📌 Must Read

LPG crisis: As the West Asia war crisis continues to grow, data on liquified petroleum gas (LPG) consumption shows that states with the most beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), a programme largely targeting rural households, tend to consume the most LPG overall, though each household in such states uses less LPG per month than those in more urban states. India has about 33.37 crore LPG consumers, including 10.56 crore PMUY beneficiaries, with average household usage at roughly half a cylinder per month, indicating limited consumption in many homes. Total LPG consumption in India has increased six-fold over the last three decades with the highest growth in the 2000s and 2010s when demand grew 8 to 11% annually. However, consumption growth has slowed since 2020 as LPG connections have reached near saturation. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of LPG consumers (4.87 crore), followed by Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Karnataka. Read. 

Mimicry row: A government primary school teacher, Saket Purohit, in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district has been suspended after a video of him mimicking Prime Minister Narendra Modi went viral. BJP MLA Preetam Lodhi complained that a government employee mocking the Prime Minister violated service conduct rules. Purohit, who teaches classes 1–5 and is also the in-charge of the local “Happiness Department” unit, was found imitating PM Modi’s speaking style while making satirical remarks about rising LPG cylinder prices at a social gathering. During the suspension period, he has been attached to the Block Education Office in Badarwas and will receive subsistence allowance. Purohit has termed the action unjustified, saying it was taken without a show-cause notice or hearing and that he only intended to make people laugh. 

⏳ And Finally…

AI vs healthcare: At the Idea Exchange, AIIMS Delhi director Dr M Srinivas spoke to Ankita Upadhyay about the growing role of artificial intelligence in healthcare and the challenges facing public hospitals. Dr Srinivas said AI is not replacing doctors but acting as a filter or triage tool, with final medical decisions remaining with doctors. He noted that AI could help with initial diagnosis in remote areas lacking specialists and enable doctors to focus on more complex cases. 

That’s all for today, folks! Until tomorrow, 

Anupama