Strengthen demand for moving education to State List: Kanimozhi 

CHENNAI

Member of Parliament and DMK deputy general secretary Kanimozhi on Thursday called for strengthening the demand for moving education from the Concurrent List of the Constitution to the State List.

She was speaking at a Republic Day special seminar, organised by the State Platform for Common School System-Tamil Nadu (SPCSS-TN), on the topic, ‘Save Constitution and Parliamentary Democracy’ with a demand for Presidential assent to the Bill to exempt Tamil Nadu from NEET.

She contended that moving education to the State list alone could offer a long-term solution to the Union government’s interventions in the education sector. Arguing that the State knew what its students needed, she said Tamil Nadu had nothing to learn from the Union government, with the significant progress it had achieved in education.

Highlighting the initiatives such as the noon meal scheme and the breakfast scheme at schools, she said the State was showing the way for the country. While the Union government had only recently set a target of 50% Gross Enrolment Ratio, Tamil Nadu had already achieved it. The starting of medical colleges in almost all districts and the broadening of access to medical education before NEET had helped the State perform better on health indicators, she said.

Criticising the BJP government at the Centre for taking away the spaces for dialogues, Ms. Kanimozhi pointed to the ban on the BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat Riots and said that with the advances in technology, the government was not realising that a ban would create more interest among people in watching the documentary.

According to her, the space for meaningful discussions in Parliament had significantly shrunk since the BJP came to power, with several Bills getting passed without any discussion.

Dharmapuri MP S. Senthilkumar of the DMK said such important avenues as the Question Hour and the Zero Hour in Parliament were being undermined with no scope for Opposition parties to raise issues. He blamed the Union government for appointing ruling BJP members as the chairpersons of a majority of Standing Committees.