The Hindu : New Delhi News : Dharna in support of common school system

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 30, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Dharna in support of common school system

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, NOV. 29. In support of their demand for withdrawal of the Free and Compulsory Education Bill and introduction of the common school system across the country, the National Alliance for Right to Education and Equity (NAFRE) staged a dharna in the Capital today.

The beginning of a 10-day long campaign for the common school system and constitutional right to work across the country, the NAFRE described the campaign as an attempt to propagate the issue as a human rights one. With participants from 15 States across the country, NAFRE claimed that over 10,000 people from across the country had come to the dharna which is also demanding the right to work.

"Education should help people find employment. Specially in a country like India, where it will be difficult to motivate people towards education unless it helps them earn a living in the end. The Government needs to create job opportunities, and one important way is by introducing land reforms to help the rural population,'' said Ambarish Rai, the national organiser of NAFRE.

While expressing its opposition to commercialisation and privatisation of education, NAFRE members today noted that disparity in education continued to be one of the major problems facing India, with the Government failing to allocate six per cent of the GDP towards education despite promising it in the common minimum programme.

"You cannot have the system of education for classes and literacy of masses. The common school system will ensure that everybody has the same kind education irrespective of their social background. Nearly 50 per cent of the country's children are out of school today.

How is the Government going to fulfil its promise to the UN of getting all children to school by 2010? Despite the common minimum programme, the defence budget was raised but not the allocations for education,'' he added.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi