Modi govt pushing RSS agenda through NEP: Left parties

The CPI(M) and the CPI on Friday accused the government of pushing the RSS agenda into the academia through the new National Education Policy (NEP) and alleged it would lead to commercialisation, centralisation and communalisation of education. Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion Friday that he was happy that no section of the country has opposed the NEP or called it biased, CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury in a series of tweets claimed it was being opposed by a large section of society.

Illusions of grandeur? Many state governments, academia, students & intelligentsia opposed & continue to oppose this fundamental shift in India's education system, with RSS imprint- centralisation, commercialisation & communalisation Forced by Parliament the earlier draft had to be withdrawn in 2017. It has been cosmetically rehashed and bulldozed under conditions of the pandemic & lockdown, he said. He further said it was wrong of the PM to say that no one has complained of any bias in the new NEP.

This policy is biased against the Dalits/Tribals/Disabled & religious & linguistic minorities. This favours the rich & elite, deprives the poor & marginalised. It will continue to be opposed, he said. CPI general secretary D Raja said the NEP has virtually made education inaccessible for the poor. Everything that the PM has said is a mere rhetoric. These rhetoric cannot justify the NEP. They cannot deceive the people any more. The Modi government is implementing the agenda of the RSS and handing over of the entire education system to the private sector.

It is complete privatisation, commercialisation, centralisation and communalisation of education. Even the Parliament has been bypassed to achieve this aim, said Raja. On Friday, Modi said the NEP is not just a circular and its implementation will be like a "mahayagya" which will need strong determination and collective efforts from all stakeholders. Referring to the policy as the foundation of the "new India", he said the NEP focusses on "how to think", while the country's education system so far emphasised on "what to think".

"The new education policy is not just a circular. The job doesn't end with the notification of the policy, it has to be successfully implemented, for which a strong determination is needed from everyone. This is like a 'mahayagya' for building the present and future of the country," Modi said in the inaugural address at the 'Conclave on Transformational Reforms in Higher Education under National Education Policy' via a video link.

Modi also said it is a matter of happiness that after the introduction of the NEP no region or section has said that it is biased, or leaning towards one side.