Several teachers, students and non-teaching employees marched from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar here Tuesday demanding strengthening of government schools and reversal of policies promoting "privatisation of education" among others.
The 'Save Education, Save Nation' march was organised under the banner of the Joint Forum for Movement on Education (JFME). The forum submitted its demands in the form of a comprehensive memorandum to the PMO.
The memorandum has a list of 26 demands, which include bringing back the 200-point roster, extending the Right to Education cover to higher education up to the PG level, strengthening government schools, full and assured public-funding of education at a minimum 10 per cent of GDP.
The march culminated in a public meeting which was addressed by CPI(M) leaders Brinda Karat and Nilotpal Basu, senior AAP leader Dilip Pandey and CPI leader D Raja.
Basu said the credit for uniting people of different ideologies and from different parts of the country goes to the Modi government that has "attacked the field of education in the last four-and-a-half years."
"If we do not displace this government, the country will be destroyed. We are seeing jumlebaazi about two crore jobs. Employment opportunities have not been generated ... the country is being divided for reaping electoral benefits ..." Basu said.
Alleging that the government has prepared a roster on the basis of which no SC/ST/OBC candidate can ever become a teacher, Karat said minds of our children are being poisoned" with words like corporatisation, commercialisation, communalisation being written in the books.
Pandey said the government is playing with the future of the students in the name of education.
Raja exhorted the protesters to exercise their right to vote and bring in a new government in the coming elections.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)