The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Centre's move to shift education to State list opposed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 30, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Centre's move to shift education to State list opposed

Staff Reporter

"The proposed model Bill will destroy social justice and guarantee education solely for the affluent"

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Alliance For Right to Education (TAFRE) protested the Centre's move to shift education to the State list here on Monday.

The move is an abdication of the Centre's responsibility to provide free education to the children of the country and will lead to rampant privatisation of education, said Thenpandian, convener, TAFRE. The coalition of non-governmental organisations and students and teachers' unions have held demonstrations at four places in the State.

The proposed model Bill would destroy social justice, said members of the coalition. The Bill would guarantee education solely for the affluent, they said.

Other demands include giving education free to all those below 18 at common schools, implementing a law against compulsory donation at schools, preventing ill treatment of students in the name of punishment, filling teacher vacancies and confirming the percentage of GDP that would be set aside for education. The alliance has also asked the Government to withdraw support to Sri Lanka to protest its alleged crimes against children. The members said the model Bill would negate the little good that reservation has done over the years and further reduce the percentage of students, who enter higher education in the country from the current seven per cent.

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