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‘NEP Quit India’ campaign begins

Students and teachers collectives share AIFRTE’s letter rejecting the policy, take to social media to voice their concerns

AIFRTEImage Courtesy:sentinelassam.com

Students, teachers, academicians and many other groups working in the field of education have responded to the call for a Quit India campaign against the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 by the All India Forum for Right to Education (AIFRTE). 

AIFRTE is a united platform of academics, students, teachers and activists in defence of democratic rights and struggles. It had rejected the NEP 2020 for its push towards the Centre’s “neoliberal and fascist agenda” amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. As per an open letter circulated by AIFRTE, the policy violates constitutional rights, principles and goals of Indians with public-private ‘partnership’ (PPP) schemes that promote the merger and closure of existing government schools. Further, the AIFRTE said the NEP 2020 seeks to centralise the education system by denying the federal structure of India.

“It claims that the neoliberal strategy of privatisation, corporatisation and centralisation of education will provide “universal access” to “quality education” for all. However… the inequalities in people’s life conditions are so extreme that this is not feasible at all… NEP 2020 is [currently being] implemented most anti-democratically through government orders in the absence of open debate amongst parliamentarians in the Parliament. It will lead to a denial of any meaningful education for over ninety percent of children,” said the AIFRTE.

This open letter was shared by many organisations like Delhi’s women students collective Pinjra Tod. Later the collective published its own statement denouncing the evils of the “blended learning” of the NEP 2020.

 

The AIFRTE said that the policy is aimed at ensuring that education suffers just like the right to work and to health. It alleged the schemes convert education into a market commodity to be sold and traded for corporate profit. This particularly hinders the education of communities crippled by caste, class, gender, and disability, religion, non-Hindi/ non-English language.

“Those from well-to-do families, educated in elite English medium schools and economically equipped to benefit from expensive private coaching centres, are allowed to further consolidate their economic and social advantages. It is no wonder that NEP 2020 makes no mention of the promotion of diversity and social justice through the Reservation policy,” said the AIFRTE.

Along with students, organisations like the Telangana Progressive Teachers Federation (TPTF) also protested the NEP 2020 on Tuesday. Other groups and individuals also joined the protest with their own banners and messages. The Twitter storm will continue on August 11 and August 12 as well.

 

 

 

The full letter by the AIFRTE can be viewed below:

Related:

AIFRTE announces NEP Quit India campaign
Activists, intellectuals discuss the threat of NEP 2020 on Constitution Day
AIFRTE condemns arrest of Save Education Committee members over NEP 2020
Modi and Sangh shape education in their own mould

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