Students March to Save Education

Thousands of students marched on the streets of Delhi today (3rd March, 2017). Students Federation of India (SFI) had called a ‘Chalo Delhi’ march. The march was called ‘against the attack on Education, Democracy and Social Justice.’

Students from all over the country participated in the march. Slogans were raised in several languages against fund cut for education in Budget allocations in 2017. Slogans were also raised against right-wing attack on students’ rights to dissent.

The voices of dissent in universities across the country are being curtailed.There has been an ongoing attack on various academic institutions such as the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, Hyderabad Central University, IIT Madras, FTII Pune. The democratic spaces in the campuses are getting curtailed. The right to disagree is being questioned.  The march raised voices against growing intolerance by the right-wing forces.

The march was called to focus on the problems in the higher education. Budget 2017 has lowered funds for the education sector. The Budget allocation for the University Grants Commission (UGC) has been cut down to almost half. The introduction of Choice Based Credit System(CBCS) is diluting the academic content by introducing electives which are unrelated to the field of study.

The call was to focus on the problems faced in the education sector. The schools in our country face their own problems. The learning outcomes in the school system is very weak. The National Achievement Survey, PISA and other measurements show that not even half the children in Class V are able to read a Class II text.

The march was against the fees increase in various institutions. The deprived section of students across the country are the ones to bear the brunt of increased fees. Research fellowships provided have also been reduced. This is another step against the students from the deprived section of the society.

The demand of the march was for an alternative policy framework for education. The need to stand against the intolerance of the ABVP in educational spaces. The march was called against the anti-student policies of the current regime. 

Thousands of students from across the country marched peacefully from Mandi House to Parliament Street, raising slogans for future of a better education system.