New Delhi, Feb 18: The left-affiliated student organisation AISF on Tuesday staged a protest outside Shastri Bhawan against the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s recent statement linking central education funds to Tamil Nadu’s implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
There was no immediate response from the Union Education Ministry regarding the protest.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stated that funds under the Samagra Shiksha scheme would not be released for Tamil Nadu unless the state fully implemented NEP 2020. He accused the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government of politicizing the policy.
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NEP 2020 undermines regional autonomy, promotes privatization, increases inequality, and disregards Tamil Nadu’s commitment to linguistic and cultural preservation in education, All India Students Federation (AISF) said in a statement.
“The Centre is blackmailing states into implementing NEP 2020 by withholding crucial education funds,” it added.
“We organised a peaceful protest outside the Education Ministry. The minister’s remark on NEP implementation is an attempt to coerce states that have not adopted it. Many states in India do not have a BJP government. Despite our peaceful demonstration, we were detained,” AISF National President Viraaj Devang told PTI.
AISF National General Secretary Dinesh Seerangaraj accused Pradhan of “threatening” Tamil Nadu by conditioning the release of Rs 2,000 crore in central education funds on the state’s acceptance of NEP 2020. “This is a threat to the Constitution and to non-BJP-ruled states,” he said.
The demonstrators were later detained by the Delhi Police.
According to Seerangaraj, the detained protesters were taken to Bawana Police Station and released after some time.
On Saturday, Pradhan said that funds under the Samagra Shiksha scheme would not be released for Tamil Nadu unless the state fully implemented NEP 2020. He accused the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government of politicizing the policy and questioned why they were resisting it when the rest of the country had adopted it.
Pradhan claimed the state had initially agreed to the Centre’s conditions but later backtracked. “They are politically motivated and not acting in the interest of the people of Tamil Nadu. They must adhere to constitutional norms and accept NEP in letter and spirit,” he said while speaking at the Kashi Tamil Sangamam event in Varanasi.
Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday accused Pradhan of “blackmail” for allegedly taking a stand that Tamil Nadu would not be provided funds till it accepts the NEP.
Stalin had earlier this month also accused the Centre of resorting to “open blackmail” by snatching away Rs 2,152 crore meant for the state and giving it to other states for refusing to accept the National Education Policy. (PTI)
