New Delhi, Apr 22 (PTI) Civil society members expressed their opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP) on Friday, saying students need to fight against it as it is advantageous only to the elite section among them.
CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat alleged that bills were passed in Parliament without any discussion. Karat, along with other politicians, student leaders and academicians, spoke at a public meeting held outside the Delhi University’s Arts Faculty to oppose the implementation of the NEP.
“What will happen to the adivasi students and the poor students with the implementation of the NEP? We strongly oppose this policy. This issue was raised by parliamentarians too. We have to maintain unity and raise our voice against this academic bulldozer policy,” the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader said.
Students carrying banners that read “students unity zindabad” and “Reject FYUP” took part in the public meeting.
Rajya Sabha member Manoj Jha of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) said, “I have been a professor as well as a student in this university. I was eagerly waiting for this document to be placed in Parliament but it was never taken up for a discussion. It is called the new education policy, but it hardly talks about education. It is a document of slavery. It is a document to take India back to the medieval age,” he said.
Noting that COVID-19 has impacted everyone’s lives, Jha accused the BJP-led Centre of doing “a lot of mismanagement” in the name of the pandemic.
“Education-related decisions should not be taken by people like (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi and (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah. I was told by someone that do not trust Parliament as there are very few good parliamentarians. This is going to be a long fight, because the students here are fighting not just for themselves but also for the future generations,” he said.
Former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president N Sai Balaji said the University Grants Commission (UGC) should now be called the “University Granted to Corporates Commission”.
“Reliance got a new policy for the garment industry and they got the same plan for education also. Reliance came up with the idea of trying clothes at a store and then the customers can place their orders online later. This education policy is also similar. Universities are becoming the new shopping malls. Not a single degree is being taught by the faculty properly. This is the new economic policy of corporates,” he added.
JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh alleged that the Centre is not working to improve the policies but to downgrade those.
“This fight is not just for the DU and JNU students. This is a fight for all the students. We do not agree to this model,” she said. PTI ABU SLB RC
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Source: The Print
