RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha on Tuesday said the National Education Policy 2020 is against the soul of the Constitution, and alleged a conscious attempt was underway to stop democratisation of education.
Addressing a ‘Student Parliament’ at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Mr. Jha alleged that no discussion was held on the policy in Parliament.
“The document has not been tabled in Parliament. Isn’t this dishonesty on its own? There has been no discussion on NEP. When we tried to raise the matter in Zero Hour, it was not accepted, and we were told that it is a policy decision and there is no need for discussion,” the MP said.
“NEP is against the interests of not only the lower class but the middle class as well. We are here in solidarity that there has been a conscious attempt to halt the onward march of democratisation of education,” he added.
Mr. Jha alleged that there has been no mention of social justice and affirmative action in the document.
“This document is against the soul of the Constitution and the Preamble. The document has erased the difference between scholarship and loans,” he said.
The ‘Student Parliament’ was organised by the All India Students’ Association.
Students of 25 universities from 15 states participated in the gathering to demand the roll-back of NEP 2020, the AISA said.
Dipankar Bhattacharya, general secretary of CPI (ML), alleged that the new policy will only help the coaching industry to flourish.
It will lead to privatisation, centralisation and saffronisation of education, he added.
Hindu College Professor Ratan Lal said the education policy will affect both students and teachers.
“Professors will also suffer due to this policy. We should all fight for it. We should stand together to protest against this policy,” he said.
