SFI against school shutdown in West Bengal; Demand abolishment of NEP 2020

The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) has decided to hold protests in front of 8,207 schools that the government has decided to shut down.

Bengal government’s decision to shut down nearly eight thousand schools is not receiving a good response from several students’ groups. The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) has decided to hold protests in front of 8,207 schools that the government has decided to shut down.

The Federation initially approached the education minister through a letter requesting the department to talk on several issues, including the government’s decision to shut down schools and the demand to hold students’ union polls in colleges. The SFI also wanted to convey to Basu its concern about the huge drop in the number of Madhyamik examinees compared to last year. Nearly four lakh Madhyamik examinees dropped out in 2023.  

The decision to hold the protest was taken on a day SFI activists and police clashed on the streets of Calcutta and Howrah as they were denied permission to march to the Assembly to meet education minister Bratya Basu.

8,207 schools forced to close

Addressing a news conference, SFI president Pratikur Rahaman expressed the Federation’s decision to hold a protest. He said “We are asking all students to reach those 8,207 schools, which have been forced to close. They must put up posters in front of these schools and start an agitation to revive them. The programme will start from tomorrow (Saturday) and if needed students will involve guardians to lead a larger movement.”

Abolish NEP 2020

SFI has also prepared a report citing several issues including the shutdown of 8,207 state-aided schools. The report claims that the government closed the schools as the number of students in these institutions had come down to 30 or less. However, the report further added that the closure is responsible for 22 lakh students dropping out of the education system. The SFI also demanded the abolition of the new National Education Policy of the Narendra Modi government.

To press for these demands the SFI organised a march to the Assembly on Friday but the police made preventive arrests at several places in Calcutta and Howrah to foil the march that was denied permission on the grounds of the ongoing board examinations.

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