With the National Education Policy not mentioning reservation for underprivileged students, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him whether his government seeks to end the quota policy for Dalit, tribal and disabled in educational institutions.
Yechury said the CPI(M) had opposed the NEP 2020 inside Parliament for 'several important reasons' and it is being implemented without any Parliamentary approval.
He said various elements of NEP 2020 are being rolled out in different parts of the country in an 'ad-hoc piecemeal manner' without discussing it with important stakeholders like the state governments, students, teachers, non-teaching staff, educationists and other experts.
"This is creating grave uncertainties and confusion regarding the actual direction proposed for the Indian Education system under this new policy by your government," Yechury wrote.
He said the omission of mention of quota is one particular issue is causing 'great anxiety', especially among SC, ST, OBC communities and the disabled.
"It is truly shocking that NEP 2020 makes no mention of reservations for these sections, either for admissions or for appointments to teaching and non-teaching positions. In fact, even the word 'reservation' does not appear anywhere in the policy document," Yechury said.
"This has led to widespread concern whether this act of omission is deliberate, conveying the intention to reverse many decades of efforts to integrate quality, quantity and equity in the Indian education system," he said.
"I am, therefore, seeking your clear and categorical response to the following question viz., does NEP 2020 seek to end the policy of reservations for SC, ST, OBC and disabled in educational institutions? If not, could you please clarify as to why NEP 2020 does not contain any mention of reservations?" he added.
(Published 23 November 2020, 12:08 IST)
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