The photo of a primary school classroom from the village of Manela in Punjab is viral with a false claim on social media. The picture, which shows school children seated around a conference table, is being shared as a change in the education sector in Punjab by the Aam Aadmi Party government.
Punjab's Education Minister along with leaders from the Aam Aadmi Party have shared the viral photos. The posts claimed that now, in line with the development of schools in Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia's education policy, the same development can be seen in Punjab as well.
However, BOOM has found that the photos shared by AAP leaders as their own achievement is not only old, but the school was actually built when Congress was in power in Punjab.
Punjab's Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains shared the photo of the school on Twitter and wrote, "Yes it's, A govt. school…..A primary govt. school of Punjab, Manela, District Fategarh Sahib." (sic)
Click here to view the tweet and here for the archive.
AAP Maharashtra's official Twitter handle also shared the photo with the caption, "On the lines of Delhi's world-class government schools, now the @ArvindKejriwal model has emerged in Punjab as well. This is a primary government school in "Manela" village of Punjab"
(Original text in Hindi: "दिल्ली के विश्व स्तरीय सरकारी स्कूलों की तर्ज पर अब पंजाब में भी @अरविंद केजरीवाल मॉडल सामने आया है. यह पंजाब के "मनेला" गांव का एक प्राथमिक सरकारी स्कूल है.")
Click here to view the tweet and here for the archive.
AAP leader Anurag Dhanda shared the post and wrote, "After Delhi's brilliant schools, now see the effect of @ArvindKejriwal model in Punjab. This is a government primary school in Manela village of Punjab. In the hope of a similar change, Gujarat is also asking for 'change'."
(Original text in Hindi: "दिल्ली के शानदार स्कूलों के बाद अब पंजाब में @ArvindKejriwal मॉडल का असर देखिये. ये पंजाब के मनेला गांव का सरकारी प्राइमरी स्कूल है. ऐसे ही बदलाव की उम्मीद में गुजरात भी 'परिवर्तन' मांग रहा है.")
Click here to view the tweet and here for the archvie.
Anurag Dhanda's tweet was also retweeted by Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia.
The viral picture has been shared by several AAP-backed handles claiming that the party has transformed the education model in Punjab. See here, here, and here.
The official Facebook page of the Aam Aadmi Party's Madhya Pradesh unit also posted a picture claiming, "After Delhi's brilliant schools, now the effect of Arvind Kejriwal model has started in Punjab."
(Original text in Hindi: "दिल्ली के शानदार स्कूलों के बाद अब पंजाब में अरविंद केजरीवाल मॉडल का असर हुआ शुरू."
See the post here. See other viral posts on Facebook here.
FACT-CHECK
BOOM ran a reverse image search of the viral photo and found the exact same image in a report published by Punjabi Jagran on September 2, 2021.
In this report, Jagtar Singh Manela, a teacher from the Manela primary school located in Fatehgarh Sahib district is receiving the President's award for the year 2021 for his outstanding performance in the field of education.
The report further mentions how Jagtar Singh Manela was transferred to the primary school in Manela in 2015. At the time, the school's condition was very poor. The school's land was in possession of many people. After this, due to Jagtar Singh's efforts, the school transformed into a smart school and today, it is equipped with all educational technologies.
In the report, Jagtar Singh has been quoted as saying that there are 6 classrooms, bathrooms, offices, a mid-day meal room, a computer room, a library, a smart classroom, projector, LED, AC, sound system, green park, sports ground, modern kitchen, water cooler, RO system, educational park, open library, swing for children, etc available for the children.
The viral photo is from September 2021 when Congress was ruling the state of Punjab. AAP formed a government in Punjab in March 2022.
In this case, the claim of AAP leaders that the primary school in Manela located in the Fatehgarh Sahib district is an extension of Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia's education model in Delhi can be discarded as false.
During our investigation, we also found a Facebook post by the teacher, Jagtar Singh Manela, posted on August 6, 2021 which was going viral at the time.
A photo of this classroom can also be seen in a Facebook post from June 24, 2021.
Apart from this, similar pictures of the same classroom of the government primary school in Manela can be seen in posts from May 2020, July 2020 and January 2018.
In order to take this investigation further, BOOM made contact with a primary school educator in Manela.
The teacher, who has asked to remain anonymous, told BOOM, "The viral photo is from 2021 when the state was under the Congress regime. This is a photo of the school's language and computer lab."
When we asked the teacher about the school's construction and renovation, they said that the renovation began in 2017 and lasted until 2020-21. During this time, the school's building, new classrooms, decoration etc., were worked upon. The government, the local panchayat, and other locals also helped in this. Work on the school's boundary wall began in 2016, when the Akali Dal was in power.
On the question of changes in the school after the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab, they said that a new classroom, 5 computers, a teacher, and a van have been made available to the school.
"Our school had 7 computers earlier which were from the Congress government era in Punjab, now the total is 12," the teacher told BOOM.
The teacher also sent BOOM a picture of the classroom built by the Aam Aadmi Party government.
The classroom made by the AAP government
Another photo of the classroom made by the AAP government
Furthermore, he also sent BOOM a picture of the 'Language and Computer' lab which is currently viral.
A present photo of the language and computer lab
Photos of the classroom constructed during the Aam Aadmi party government, shared by the teacher in Manela's primary school, bear no resemblance to the photos shared by Punjab's Education Minister and other AAP leaders. We also found that the newly constructed classroom did have any chairs in it till date.