New Delhi: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia lambasted a “conspiracy” being hatched to destroy education in India.
“There is a conspiracy to poison education with communalism and religion,” Sisodia wrote in his blog on November 17 soon after attending a protest against the proposed education policy in New Delhi.
“Poisoning education means poisoning the mindset of the future generation permanently,” warned the minister, who has recently started a blog ‘Education Minister’s Notebook’ through which he shares his daily activities, experiences and suggestions related to education.
In the latest blog, Sisodia shared his experience of attending the protest against what he said was the ‘anti-people education policy.’
Sisodia said that despite being Delhi’s Education Minister, he attended the protest just because he cares for good education. According to him, education should not be limited to distribution of mid-day meals, books, uniforms and appointing teachers.
“I am worried that if people become successful in vitiating educational environment at the schools, colleges and universities then there will be no means of education,” Sisodia cautioned.
“It is needed that we should oppose every such effort which turns schools and colleges into a centre of the education of any particular caste or religion,” he said.
The protest in the national capital was organized by the Federation for Protection of Right to Education that plans to offer an alternative education policy, instead of the Draft New Education Policy proposed by federal government.
Communist Party of India national secretary D Raja noted India is home to largest populace of illiterate people and demanded that the proposed policy should address the concern and insisted the government to ensure adequate financial allocation to improve education system. “The education policy should be based on secularism, scientific temper,” he said.
Joint Action Committee Against the Proposed Anti-people Education Policy–an umbrella body of various organizations working in the education sector and for minorities and the event organizer–said the draft policy has a “misconceived and ill-defined focus on so-called Vedic tradition.”
Besides, they suggested the policy helps hand over primary and higher education in the hands of market forces.
They claimed the proposed policy also goes against the concept of protecting childhood of children as it defines a person who is 15 years and above as an adult, giving them the term “working children.”
The protest began with a march from Mandi House to Parliament, a distance of three kilometers. A day long demonstration was held where an alternative education policy was emphasized.
Educationists, teachers, youth and civil society organizations, and political groups opposed to the policy joined the demonstration at Parliament Street, a few meters from the Parliament House where the session was on.
The organizers, including various Christian denominations, warned that the future of education in India is under threat.
They said the New Education Policy [NEP] being proposed and aggressively promoted by the federal government will communalize, commercialize and centralize education.
“It is anti-people, anti-poor, against federal, secular, socialist values enshrined in the Constitution of India and against social justice,” they added.
Several state governments have already protested the proposal for its disregard to India’s federalism and cultural diversity. The policy obliterates the contribution that Muslim, Christian and other communities have made to education in India.
Researchers have traced government’s policy document displayed on its Human Resources Development Ministry website to documents and advocacy papers of frontal forums of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and prominent proponents of Hindutva politics and culture, they alleged.
The March was endorsed by the ruling and opposition political parties of Tamil Nadu, the youth and students wings of the Congress and others, and senior Civil Society activists.