To highlight the condition of the education sector and demand reforms, the All-India Students Federation is organising a march from Ramlila Maidan to Jantar Mantar this Friday. Students from all over the country will take part in the rally which will be addressed among others by Communist Party of India general secretary A.B. Bardhan. The major demands of the AISF include adequate steps by the Government to rehabilitate the students of riot-hit places, particularly Kandhamal in Orissa, and constitution of an Educational Commission comprising academicians and civil society members to review the current standing of the educational system and also to improve the quality and content of curriculum.
The AISF has also demanded setting up of a national monitoring committee comprising eminent academicians to scrutinise the implementation of reservation policies in higher education institutions. A Central legislation by Parliament to control commercialisation of education in professional colleges was also demanded. Other demands included increase in budgetary allocation for higher education and research, steps to hold student union elections in all educational institutions and free provision of books and uniforms to the flood-affected students of Bihar.
