WB: SFI Calls for Rallies Against NEP Throughout Eastern India

Kolkata: Terming the New Education Policy (NEP) as tantamount to a disaster in the education sector, the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) has called for massive students’ rallies, the largest of its kind in eastern India, on September 2.

Announcing this in a press conference in Kolkata, SFI West Bengal state secretary Srijan Bhattacharya and state president Pratikur Rahaman have said that in the run-up to rallies in the state, various programmes of sensitising the masses about the NEP would be undertaken. Leaflets will be distributed all over the state about NEP that is being implemented in the country. Further, public opinion of the policy and its impact would also be sought by the organisation.

In the months of August-September, the central executive committee (CEC) of SFI CEC has called for huge walkathons (jathas) and rallies. The motto of the rallies has been decided as: ‘March for Education, Save Education, Save Constitution, Save India’.

In West Bengal two jathas will arrive; one of which will start from Tripura and after crossing Manipur and Assam and will enter Cooch Behar district on August 19. Another jatha will start its journey from Bihar and after crossing parts of Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand, it will enter the state on August 20. These walkathons will call for the rejection of NEP (New Education Policy) as well as the BJP.

From July 1 to August 10, there will be special campaign drives in West Bengal that will entail leaflet distribution and opinion seeking from stakeholders.

SFI has felt that the State government in West Bengal has remained ambiguous towards its stand on adhering to the NEP. In fact, they have been trying to actively adopt the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model in education even faster than the BJP-run state governments. Though that attempt for now has gone to the backburner over statewide student protests, still the TMC-run government cannot be trusted, SFI noted.

During the pandemic, SFI had chalked out a clear alternative education policy. Now, an alternative new education policy will be charted after taking into consideration the opinions of cross-sections of people. From August 1 to 19, throughout the state, there will be film festivals, cultural programmes, and exhibitions that will be organised by SFI. On August 11-12 there will be special drives in the state on account of freedom fighter and martyr Khudiram Bose’s birth anniversary and the beginning of an organised students movement in the country.

Before these programmes, on July 6-7, there will be a special protest day against the controversial Agnipath scheme in the state. SFI noted that the scheme would lead to the militarisation of society like the brown shirts of Germany’s Hitler and Italy’s Mussolini.