The Aam Aadmi Party has been directed by the Delhi High Court to defend its education reform plan 'Chunauti 2018', after a plea alleged that the policy excludes primary school students, PTI reported on Sunday. The state administration had said the plan, targeting students from classes 6 to 9, "will focus on weaker students" and reduce the number of school dropouts.

The bench has asked all the three municipal corporations in Delhi to specify their view on the plea which seeks that the plan be extended to primary school students. Filed by the Centre for Civil Society, the plea alleged the "Right to Education has been reduced to the right to schooling". A hearing has been scheduled for November 28.

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Representing the organisation, advocate Prashant Narang said , “The current emphasis is on buildings, teachers and toilets rather than learning. Assessment showed huge learning deficits and government knows it very well.” The plea claims that a test, conducted by the government, indicated that 74% of Class 6 students couldn't read or write Hindi text. The plea said the test results proved the existence of loopholes in the primary education system.

Introduced by the Directorate of Education, the 'Chunauti 2018' the plan specifies the method to assess and guide students from Classes 6 to 9 with an aim of improving learning levels. The programme's goal is to help students prepare for their Class 10 examination.