HYDERABAD: Covering a wide range of topics from the historical exclusion of marginalised communities from education, to the present government’s stand on education and funding for educational institutions, a panel discussion on “how Social Sciences Institutions are sidelined” was organised on the 11th day of student protests at Tata Institute of Social Sciences campus in Hyderabad. Radhika Vemula, the mother of late UoH scholar Rohith Vemula along with activist-academician Prof Sujatha Surepally participated in the discussion moderated by Dr Sowjanya Tamalapakula of the School of Gender Studies at TISS-Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, students council of TISS-Hyderabad, in a release, said that the TISS strike for inclusive education and social justice continues stronger than ever as a national committee of students had a meeting in Mumbai to discuss the issue of GOI-PMS at the Central level for future batches of the institute on Saturday afternoon.
Prof Sujatha spoke on the increasing outsourcing and privatization of education, which she connected to the gradual budget cuts in education over the last few years. Radhika Vemula criticised the schemes of the current government for its singular, limited vision – investing money in religious practises and industrial development plans but not in education. She demanded that the Central government establish colleges which will be run by the people from marginalised sections of the society.
She concluded with a warning to the Central government that if they do not end this targeting of educational institutions and marginalised sections of the society, consequences would be felt, sooner or later.
Radhika Vemula warns Centre
Radhika Vemula criticised the schemes of the current government for its singular, limited vision and warned the Centre that if they do not end this targeting of educational institutions & marginalised sections of the society, consequences would be felt