SFI slams Assam govt over ‘anti-education’ policies, flags 28,000 college dropouts

Guwahati, Feb 6: Criticizing the State Government over its alleged anti-education policies, the SFI Assam State Committee said that the developments had forced nearly 28,000 college dropouts despite 90,000 free admissions.

“A series of anti-education decisions taken under the guise of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is pushing the academic future of the State into darkness. Of the 90,000 students who availed free admission in colleges across the State, nearly 28,000 have been forced to drop out within a short span of just six months,” it said in a statement on Thursday.

“Crippling financial distress and the ever-increasing cost of education have compelled thousands of meritorious students to abandon their studies. This stark reality exposes the Government’s attempt to treat education not as a fundamental right but as a market-driven commodity,” it added.

In the name of implementing the National Education Policy, the SFI added, a systematic conspiracy is under way to exclude students from poor and middle-class families from higher education.

The closure of government educational institutions, a freeze on teacher recruitment and the aggressive promotion of privatization together constitute a direct assault on public education, it said.

Demanding a high-level inquiry to ascertain why thousands of students were forced to drop out within six months despite being granted free admission, the SFI Assam State Committee demanded that qualified teachers must be immediately appointed to all vacant posts in educational institutions across the State.

It also called for a halt to the ongoing process of shutting down government schools and colleges, and said that the privatization of education must be firmly opposed.

“Adequate scholarships and financial assistance must be ensured for students belonging to poor and middle-class families,” it further added.

Staff Reporter