While the school education department is still embarrassed about poor admissions under the 25% mandatory quota in private schools in the city, students across Maharashtra have taken up the issue and come forward with a plan to make the 2009 Right to Education Act a success next year.
They plan to launch a huge awareness campaign by next month, file various RTI applications and create pressure groups to ensure that the Act is implemented efficiently. The Maharashtra unit of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) has joined hands with educationists, Shikshan Bazarikaran Virodhi Manch (SBVM), parents and Safai Kamgar Sanghatana and formed a state council to take up education-related issues.
The group protested at Azad Maidan on Monday to make their voices heard by the assembly for them to do the needful. Since July 7, theyhave staged protests in Pune, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Parbhani, Hingoli and Nagpur.
An MBA student of a college in Nashik, Dhananjay Naik said, “We will distribute booklets among people who are unaware that they can avail themselves free education in private schools.” Shyam Sonar, an activist from Thane, said, “In the absence of the School Fee Regulatory Bill, most private schools hiked their fees this year.” Passed by both houses in the state, the bill is pending for approval at the centre.
Milind Wagh, a professor in a pharmacy college in Nashik and convener of SBVM, said, “The Self-Financing Educational Institution Bill, which can come up this session, will make education even less accessible to needy groups.”
Educationists also oppose the proposed New University Act suggested by the Arun Nigwekar Committee. “It will make higher education unaffordable for general students as well,” they said. AISA plans to hold an all-India protest in Delhi on August 9.
