Four Left parties on Monday staged a protest demonstration in Bhubaneswar in support of the nationwide student agitation at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and the hunger strike by education reform activist Sonam Wangchuk, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the withdrawal of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which they described as “anti-student.”
The demonstration, jointly organised by the CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML)-Liberation and All India Forward Bloc, alleged that repeated irregularities in national entrance examinations, including NEET, the “failure” of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the commercialization of education had plunged the country’s education system into a deep crisis.
The protesters also condemned the alleged use of police force against students demonstrating in Delhi, saying the Centre should address the students’ legitimate demands instead of suppressing democratic protests.
The four Left parties demanded that Pradhan accept moral responsibility for what they termed the prevailing chaos in the education sector and resign. They also called for the abolition of the NTA, an impartial inquiry into its functioning and measures to ensure transparency, fairness and accountability in all national entrance examinations.
Besides seeking the withdrawal of the NEP 2020, the parties demanded stringent action against those responsible for student suicides and institutional deaths. They also called for an end to the commercialization of education and urged the government to ensure equal, affordable, scientific and quality education while safeguarding students’ mental well-being, dignity and future.
The Left parties also criticised the Odisha government over alleged errors in school textbooks, demanding the resignation of School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond and the immediate publication of corrected textbooks and revised curricula.
The protest was addressed by CPI State Secretary Dr. Prashant Kumar Mishra, CPI(M) State Secretary Suresh Chandra Panigrahi, CPI(ML)-Liberation State Secretary Yudhishthir Mahapatra and All India Forward Bloc State General Secretary Jyoti Ranjan Mahapatra, among other leaders.