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Delhi government is ready to give top billing to education and health in the budget for 2023-2024, as it intends to open more schools of specialised excellence, offer tablets to teachers, and develop free-of-cost test facilities at mohalla clinics.

In the budget to be introduced on Tuesday by finance minister Kailash Gahlot, the government plans to allot extra funds for completing hospital construction projects that have skipped past deadlines.

Aam Aadmi Party has concentrated on education and health as it looks to boost its political impression beyond Delhi. The government is ready to raise the number of DrAmbedkar Schools of Specialised Excellence (SoSEs) in order to cater to about 10,000 children.

A senior official said currently, there are 32 such schools, and the government plans to take the number to 100.

Schools of Specialised Excellence (SoSEs) deliver specialised education to students of 9th to 12th classes in four disciplines: Science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), humanities, performing and visual arts, and high-technology 21st-century skills, which have subjects like robotics and computer programming.

The sources reported that the government would declare its decision to equip new tablets to all teachers - including regular, guest, and contractual- vice-principals & principals of Delhi government schools.

The official said with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at the helm of the municipal corporation, the government is likely to announce actions to enhance the quality of education in MCD schools. Delhi government schools will function closely with their feeder schools in MCD to strengthen the foundations of the children. While MCD schools deliver education from nursery to class 5th, most Delhi government schools have classes from 6th to 12th.

On the health front, the government intends to develop free-of-cost test facilities at mohalla clinics from 250-450 tests.

Another senior official said it has initiated outsourcing and appointing private laboratories to offer 450 types of tests for free to patients via diagnostic centres.

He said already several tests are free in dispensaries, hospitals, and polyclinics. The expansion will help patients, particularly with diagnostics often quite costly, as they will be made free and effortlessly accessible.

Presently, 212 tests are carried out at Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics for free. In government-aided hospitals, the number of tests differs. While in some hospitals, about 250 types of tests are performed, including blood collection, urine, etc., in super specialty facilities, the tests are around 400.

The government also intends to boost the number of beds available for patients from 14,200 to 30,000.

The official said construction of nine new hospitals by the Delhi government is underway- four will be inaugurated soon. An elongation of 15 existing hospitals will be adopted in mission mode.

The procedure of constructing seven hospitals with 6,834 beds, which could be used for ICU and non-ICU facilities, began in 2021 but has been postponed. Apart from two facilities at the current complexes of Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya and GTB Hospital, the other units reach Sarita Vihar, Sultanpuri, Raghubir Nagar Shalimar Bagh, Kirari. The project is predicted to cost over Rs 690 crore.