Kejriwal Backs Punjab School Reforms Amid Viral Video Row
Synopsis
AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal responded to a viral video of a Punjab government school on August 18, 2026, welcoming the education minister's on-ground inspection and reaffirming the party's commitment to free, quality public education in both Delhi and Punjab.
Key Takeaways
A viral video of a Punjab government school prompted AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal to post a detailed defence of his party's education record on August 18, 2026 .
Kejriwal confirmed the Punjab education minister personally visited the school in question to assess ground conditions.
He claimed thousands of parents in both Delhi and Punjab have shifted children from private schools to government schools under AAP governance.
He acknowledged that 'a few' schools still lack basic facilities but said the remaining gaps would be closed soon.
Kejriwal framed education and healthcare as 'the foundation for development of any country' and called the national debate on school quality 'a people's movement.'
A viral video of a Punjab government school triggered a swift political response on Tuesday, August 18, 2026 — and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal used the moment to reaffirm his party's decade-long bet that public education is the defining test of governance.
The viral video and the minister's visit
Kejriwal acknowledged that 'someone posted an old video of a Punjab govt school' — a clip that evidently raised questions about ground conditions. Rather than deflect, he welcomed the scrutiny, noting that 'the education minister himself visited that school to verify the situation on ground.' The minister's field report, Kejriwal said, is worth reading — a signal that AAP is confident the facts, once checked, hold up.
Delhi first, then Punjab — AAP's two-state school story
The post frames the party's education push as a sequential experiment: reforms piloted in Delhi, then replicated in Punjab after AAP's landslide there in 2022. Kejriwal pointed to thousands of cases where parents moved children from fee-charging private schools to government ones — a reversal of a decades-old trend in both states. 'Many govt schools in Punjab now compete with the best private schools in terms of facilities and quality of education,' he wrote.
He conceded the work is uneven: 'Barring a few, most schools have been provided basic facilities. Soon, remaining schools will also have all basic facilities.' The admission of gaps, paired with a progress claim, is a calibrated response to criticism without ceding the broader narrative.
Education as a people's movement — the larger argument
Kejriwal's post carries an explicitly ideological frame: that free, high-quality education and healthcare are not welfare handouts but 'the foundation for development of any country.' He called the national conversation around school quality 'a people's movement' — positioning AAP not as the author of a government scheme but as the catalyst of a civic awakening. 'It should have happened long back,' he wrote, implying that older parties had decades to act and did not.
The political subtext is clear: as the viral video circulates and critics question delivery, Kejriwal is doubling down on the promise rather than retreating from it. The education minister's on-ground visit — and the public invitation to read his report — turns a potential embarrassment into a transparency moment. Whether the report bears that weight is the question Punjab's parents, and its opposition, will now press.
Point of View
Kejriwal attempts to reframe accountability as proof of transparency. The 'people's movement' framing is also significant: it positions education reform not as a party achievement but as a broader social shift, making any rollback politically costly for successors. With AAP governing two states, the gap between its aspirational messaging and on-ground delivery in Punjab will remain a live pressure point heading into future electoral cycles.
NationPress
18 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Arvind Kejriwal say about the Punjab school viral video?
Kejriwal acknowledged that an old video of a Punjab government school was circulating online and said he was glad the education minister personally visited the school to verify conditions on the ground.
How have government schools improved under AAP in Punjab and Delhi?
Kejriwal claims thousands of parents in both Punjab and Delhi have moved their children from private schools to government schools, citing improved facilities and education quality that he says now rivals top private institutions.
Are all Punjab government schools fully upgraded?
Not yet. Kejriwal conceded that 'a few' schools still lack basic facilities but said the remaining schools would be equipped soon.
What is AAP's position on free education and healthcare?
AAP considers free, high-quality education and healthcare the two most important policy priorities, arguing that no country can progress without providing these to all citizens.
When did AAP begin its school improvement programme?
The programme began in Delhi after AAP came to power there, and was extended to Punjab following the party's election victory in that state in 2022 .
