New Delhi: Delhi CM and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday (August 31, 2022) announced the opening of the 'Delhi Model Virtual School'. Along with this, Kejriwal claimed that this is India's first virtual school. Kejriwal's claim has been denied by the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). NIOS chief Saroj Sharma has said that the institution had already started this virtual school on August 14, 2021, and it was inaugurated by the then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Sharma has termed the Kejriwal government's claim as false.

Today, we are starting India's first virtual school-Delhi Model Virtual School, affiliated with the Delhi Board of School Education. We're inviting admission applications for Class 9 from today. Students from all over the country can apply for admission: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal pic.twitter.com/yrwWD9Z9aD

— ANI (@ANI) August 31, 2022

In fact, CM Kejriwal had said on Wednesday (August 31) that, 'Today we are starting the country's first virtual school affiliated to the Delhi Board of School Education - Delhi Model Virtual School. We are inviting admission applications for class 9 from today. Students from all over the country can apply for admission.' Not only this, Chief Minister Kejriwal had further said that 'Students can participate in the live classes of Delhi Model Virtual School and can use the recorded sessions and study material. We will also assist students in preparing for competitive exams like JEE and NEET.'

At the same time, now the statement of NIOS has come to the fore after Chief Minister Kejriwal's claim to open India's first virtual school in Delhi. Saroj Sharma, the chief of the organization has said 'I was surprised to read that the Delhi government launched it yesterday. As far as the first launch in the country is concerned, we launched it at the national level. The third season is on now.' The central government claims that Kejriwal is already running virtual schools in the country before the government's claim. The central government says that more than 2.25 lakh students are taking virtual education through more than 7,000 centres across the country.

NIOS started virtual school on 14th Aug 2021 & Education Min Dharmendra Pradhan launched it.I was surprised to read that Delhi Govt launched it y'day. As far as first in the country is concerned,we launched it on national scale,3rd session underway: Saroj Sharma, NIOS Chairperson pic.twitter.com/ALqWcmTEkA

— ANI (@ANI) September 1, 2022

After this, the Kejriwal government of Delhi issued a statement saying that there is a difference between online education and virtual school. The Delhi Model Virtual School, set up by CM Kejriwal, is fully virtual for classes 9 to 12. The Delhi government said there is no hybrid system in it. The Kejriwal government has argued that almost all schools were taking online classes during the Corona epidemic. Many of these schools still use digital medium. He questioned whether these schools should also be considered virtual schools. So on this, the Kejriwal government said that there is a difference between the two.  

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