Leaders of the School Teachers’ Federation of India (STFI) on Sunday resolved to put up a united fight against the privatisation policy of the BJP government at the Centre. They also called for effective steps to restore communal harmony in the country.
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Addressing the valedictory of the three-day national conference of the federation, Surajit Majumdar from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) said the economic policy introduced in 1991 had ruined development of the country. The government’s claim that wealth and jobs would be created if the private sector was allowed freedom was proved wrong.
NMP opposed
Referring to the unveiling of the four-year National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) worth an estimated ₹6 lakh crore by the Centre with a claim that it would unlock value in brownfield projects by engaging the private sector, transferring to them revenue rights in the projects, and using the funds so generated for infrastructure creation across the country, Prof. Surajit said the move would facilitate privatisation of the public sector units.
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He said, in the organised sector, employees and workers had not been given wage hikes in the last 30 years, and the number of jobs had also shrunk. To address this crisis, teachers across the country should wage a united struggle, he said.
Addressing the meeting in the online mode, social activist Teesta Setalvad accused the BJP government at the Centre of “misusing the power given to it by the people of the country.” She said the Centre was functioning in gross violation of the Constitution, and social justice was being given a quiet burial.
Federation’s national president Abhijeet Mukherjee, general secretary C.N. Bharati, secretaries P. Babu Reddy and N. Aruna Kumari, United Teachers’ Federation president N. Venkateswarlu and general secretary K.S.S. Prasad were present at the seminar.
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The speakers argued that the National Education Policy-2020 would increase the gaps in the education system, and demanded its repeal. They also raised concern over inflation, and said protests would be staged in all the district and mandal centres from May 25 to 31, demanding effective measures to control the price rise.
In support of their demand to repeal of the NEP, the teachers’ unions decided to stage dharna and take out rallies at the district level from June 1 to 20, State-level protest on July 7, and a national-level protest on July 17 in New Delhi.
Office-bearers elected
The federation members also unanimously elected new office-bearers. K.C. Harikrishnan from Kerala is the president of STFI, C.N. Bharati (Haryana) general secretary, Sukumar (West Bengal) joint general secretary, and Prakash Chandra Mohanti (Odisha) treasurer, among others.