Shimla: Withdraw school closure notification, says student body

Shimla, July 7

The State Committee of Students’ Federation of India (SFI) has opposed the recent notification issued by the Centre and state government regarding the closure of schools. It has urged the Himachal Pradesh Government to immediately withdraw this notification.

The committee said the Centre and state government should ensure that such policies were not implemented in the country and the state.

SFI state president Anil Thakur, in a statement, said on one hand, the state government talks about providing affordable and compulsory education, on the other hand the closure of schools shows its negative attitude towards education. “Renowned educationalist and Bharat Ratna awardee Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan once said if we want to provide education to every citizen of the country, we need to open small schools in every village and provide free and compulsory education in those schools. Only then can we ensure that education reaches every common person,” Thakur said.

“At present, the governments are working in exactly the opposite direction. Considering the geographical conditions of Himachal Pradesh, which are quite different from other states, it becomes clear that if we want to provide education to every individual, we need to open as many schools, colleges and universities as possible, so that every section of society can be educated,” said Thakur.

He said by looking at such policies of the governments, it became clear that their intention was solely to commercialise and centralise education. “These policies will only lead to the privatisation and commercialisation of education, which will distance students from poorer sections of society from education,” he said. “If such policies are implemented in the country and the state, the SFI will launch an intense movement across the state and the country .”