‘National Education Policy attack on rights of states’: Patiala college students hold protest

The Punjab Students Union (PSU) held a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office to protest against the National Education Policy (NEP). Student groups from various colleges participated in the demonstration.

Addressing the gathering, PSU national coordinator Amandeep Singh Khiowali stated that the NEP, introduced by the Central government, was an attack on the rights of states. He said despite education being a subject on the Concurrent List, state governments had no say in the creation of the policy, even though they contributed over 75% of the funding for education. He demanded that education be moved to the State List of the Constitution and that Punjab’s education policy should be formulated by the state government.

District secretary of the union Gurdhian Singh stated that according to the new template of Punjabi University, the number of subjects was increased from five to nine. Colleges lacked resources and did not have sufficient teachers to teach these subjects. Many courses exist only on paper and the union demanded the cancellation of these extra subjects.

Union district president Gurdas Singh said the Punjab Government should frame a law to provide 90% reservation in jobs to residents of the state. Similar laws have been passed by other states. He also suggested that a 30% mandatory score in Punjabi should be a requirement for government jobs, which would encourage students to take a greater interest in the subject.

District leader Vakshit said Punjabi University had increased examination fees by up to 100%, which was an additional financial burden on students. He stated that the PSU would intensify its struggle to reverse this hike.