Political parties using education as tool to legitimise their ideology: Kanhaiya

Former JNU Students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar today accused political parties of using the education sector as a tool to legitimise their ideology and demanded that they declare their education policy during elections.

Kumar said even though education is part of politics, politicians have stopped including it in their election programmes.

This, he said, has resulted in the sector "being dumped as a waste of taxpayers' money".

"Education is a political question and political parties are using it as a tool for their ideological legitimacy," he said at an event titled 'People's Tribunal on Attack on Educational Institutions in India' in New Delhi.

The 31-year-old demanded that political parties, following any ideology, should declare their education policy during elections "to save public institutions from getting destroyed".

He also held the "elite class" responsible for the poor state of public educational institutions.

"The elite class sends their children to best institutions aspiring for quality education, but what is happening in reality is public institutions are destroyed due to slumping demand."