Old Photo from Bihar Circulated as Evidence of Poor Conditions in Delhi Government Schools Under AAP Rule
Amid the controversy surrounding alleged irregularities in the renovation of the official residence used by Arvind Kejriwal during his tenure as Delhi CM, a photo (here & here) has been circulating on social media showing the interior of a classroom where students are sitting on the floor without proper lighting. The post claims this photo reflects the dire condition of government schools in Delhi under the Aam Aadmi Party-led government. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: A photo depicting the dire conditions inside a Delhi government school classroom, where students are sitting on the floor with inadequate lighting.
Fact: This photo was taken at a government-run primary school in Brahimpur village, Chapra district, Bihar, on 19 July 2013. Therefore, the claim in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of the viral photo led us to several media articles (here, here & here) using the same photo as a representational image since at least 2014.
Further research directed us to an article (archive) by The Quint, published in 2018, which featured the same photo. The caption stated that the image was taken in a classroom in Chapra district, Bihar, and the photo was credited to Reuters.
Taking a cue from this, we searched the Reuters Pictures website using relevant keywords and discovered that the photo was published on their site on 21 July 2013. The description revealed that the image was taken on 19 July 2013, at a government-run primary school in Brahimpur village, Chapra district, Bihar. At that time, Nitish Kumar was the Chief Minister of Bihar. Additionally, Arvind Kejriwal became the Chief Minister of Delhi only on 28 December 2013.
To sum it up, an old photo from Bihar is being falsely shared to claim the dire condition of government schools in Delhi under the AAP government.