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Lok Sabha elections 2019: Pune organisations push hard for education manifesto to hit home
Teachers, parents and professionals from other sectors prepare manifesto
While every political party is set to release their manifesto for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections 2019, a group released an ‘education manifesto’ on Monday.
Shripal Sabnis, former president of Marathi Sahitya Sammelan and parents of students who got admission through Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (the RTE Act), announced the ‘education manifesto’ at SM Joshi Foundation auditorium in Navi Peth. Various organisations working in the educational field for students, teachers, parents and other sectors have prepared the manifesto.
“The manifesto has mainly 13 demands with sub-sections for pre-primary, primary, secondary and higher secondary, higher education, education for minorities, physically challenged, adivasi and transgender students. Our major demands are free, equal and quality education from kindergarten to post-graduation; education should not be treated as a private good, but as a public good. And the most important thing is a minimum of 8 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) should be spent on education by the central government. Also privatisation, commercialisation, profiteering, public-private-partnership (PPP) scheme and globalisation in education sector must be immediately stopped,” said Sharad Javadekar, organiser of Akhil Bharatiya Samajwadi Adhyapak Sabha.
Organization like Shikshak Hitkarani Sabha, Movement for Peace and Justice for Welfare, 25% Reservation Parents Group, Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal and others have contributed to make the manifesto. A copy of the manifesto has been sent to all the national-level political parties.
Sabnis said, “There is no barrier of caste, religion, race to get education and so education should be free for all. And the way to go towards it is cited in the manifesto released today. For all the political parties, education is not top priority, but I think investment in education system is more needed than in defence sector.”