Draft education policy promoting more elitist, pro-corporate thrust: CPI(M)

The draft National Education Policy "is not acceptable" as it will ensure centralisation, commercialisation and communalisation of the education system and structures, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury has said.

In a letter to Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Friday, Yechury shared the Left party's observations on the draft policy.

He claimed that the policy "completely contravenes" with the powers of state governments.

"The DNEP (Draft National Education Policy) in the present form will ensure the centralization, commercialization and communalization of the Indian education system and structures.

"Instead of arriving at a balance between quantity, quality and equity in the education system, this DNEP is promoting a more elitist and pro-corporate thrust. This DNEP in its present form, is hence, not acceptable," he said.

Yechury said that the policy needed wider consultations.

Some of the observations include the policy's failure to identify and address the socio-economic challenges that have daunted India's educational progress.

While the cost of quality education continues to rise, increasing numbers of pupils drop out before completing compulsory education.

"While the DNEP pays more importance to higher education and research than has hitherto been given, it builds castles in the air instead of assessing the impact of growing commercialisation and privatisation at this level of education.

"It sets up an ambitious GER target of 50 per cent by 2035 but hopes that the target will be achieved without binding the Union Government to funding commitments. Its policy recommendations are based on one-sided diagnoses derived entirely from the Niti Aayog's Action Agenda. It replicates currently identified evils by advocating increased private investment, uniform regulatory and assessment parameters for public-funded and private higher educational institutions," the party said said.