Mumbai: Committees set up to review new education policy

With the Union ministry of human resource development asking for suggestions on the new education policy, parents, activists and educationists in Mumbai have decided to form committees to present to the government, issues that concern the education sector.

With the Union ministry of human resource development asking for suggestions on the new education policy, parents, activists and educationists in Mumbai have decided to form committees to present to the government, issues that concern the education sector.

On Tuesday, the Forum for Fairness in Education, a non-government organisation held a discussion with parents, teachers and activists to discuss issues such as admission procedures, infrastructure, fee structures, exploitation of teachers, no regulation for pre-primary sector, uniformity syllabus, RTE Act and its implementation, issue of minority institutions, safety of students, among others.

Stressing on the need to address these issues together, Jitendra Shah, vice president of the NGO said, “Many want to complaint anonymously as they fear that they will be victimised by authorities or school management. We are looking at ways in which these anonymous complaints reach out to authorities concerned.”

Special attention will also be given to problems faced by teachers. Arun Saxena, president of the International consumer rights council said that currently there are no forums for protecting the rights of the teachers. “Teachers are underpaid, working overtime, but nobody is looking to ease their burdens,” said Saxena. “So we will work jointly with the forum to address issues affecting teachers.”

These committees will be guided by government experts such as spokesperson of Shiv Sena, Manisha Kayande and Vithal Wankhede, former deputy director of school education and will be formed soon.