All India Democratic Students’ Organization (AIDSO), right from the beginning, has been building up a mighty mass movement against the National Education Policy 2020. A nationwide one crore signature campaign was held and after that, a clarion call to form 1 lakh committees enrolling 25 lakh volunteers was given. Both the programmes received a tremendous response from the students and education-loving people. In course of strengthening this movement, AIDSO organized a North Indian Zonal Convention on 29 March 2023 at Kala Bhawan, Punjabi University, Patiala. Students, teachers and guardians from Punjab and North Indian states including Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh and Jammu participated in the convention very enthusiastically.
A good number of students and research scholars from Punjabi University, Patiala, attended the programme. The University premises echoed with the slogans against the anti-education, anti-student NEP 2020 while the students rallied from the University gate to Kala Bhawan. A quotation and photo exhibition was held outside the hall, which was inaugurated by Dr. Shyam Sunder Deepti (Former Professor, GMC Amritsar and President, AISEC, Punjab).
The convention was held in two sessions. The first session was addressed by the renowned intellectuals from different states like Dr. Shyam Sunder Deepti, Shri Surendra Raghuvanshi (Eminent Poet, Madhya Pradesh), Mr. Hukum Chand (President, Malwa Zone, Govt. Colleges Guest Faculty Assistant Professors’ Association, Punjab & Secretariat Member, AICUTA-NR), Shri Balli Singh Cheema (Eminent Poet, Uttarakhand), Prof. Bhim Inder Singh (Chairman, Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha Chair, PU, Patiala, Punjab), Dr. Ansuman Mitra (well-known leader of Peoples’ Health Movement and Secretary, Medical Service Centre), Prof. Balwinder Singh Tiwana (on behalf of PUTA) and V.N. Rajasekhar (All India President, AIDSO). The written messages of the eminent educationists like Prof. Chaman Lal (Retired Prof. JNU) and Prof. Narendra Sharma (Retired Professor, Delhi University, Delhi) were read out. All India leaders presented mementos to all the speakers.
Addressing the convention, all the speakers unequivocally pronounced that the National Education Policy 2020 is a blueprint of privatization, commercialization, communalization, centralization and vocationalization of education. They said that the central government as well as the state governments are hell-bent on implementing this policy. They appealed to all education-loving people, students, teachers, and guardians of the country to raise their voices to resist NEP 2020 and save public education. In the second session, the leaders of the left and progressive student organizations expressed their views against the National Education Policy 2020. This session was addressed by speakers from AISF, PSU, SFI, PSU (Lalkaar), PRSU, PSU (Saheed Randhawa), AIDSO, DASFI, PSF and Shibasish Praharaj, In-charge, AIDSO, Punjab. Student leaders from different Universities presented mementos to the fraternal leaders.
The convention was presided over by Sourav Ghosh, General Secretary, AIDSO. A resolution against NEP 2020 was placed and unanimously adopted after discussion
Before the formal beginning of the programme, AIDSO participated in the strike called by the students, teachers and workers of the University and expressed its solidarity with the ongoing movement of ‘Punjabi University Bachao Morcha’. AIDSO also announced, from the convention, to observe a ‘‘Solidarity Day’’ across the country in support of the movement on 6 April 2023. The President of the convention called for a countrywide movement with the real left and democratic forces. The programmes was concluded with the pledge to build a united mass movement against NEP 2020 to save education and humanity.
North Indian Zonal Convention organized by AIDSO in Punjab
