Student Federation of India (SFI) has arranged a “face to face classroom” on road to protest against the closure of educational institutions. The student body will hold the protest on August 12 across West Bengal.

Schools across India have been closed since mid-March 2020 due to the pandemic and classes are being conducted digitally since then. While the country is reopening slowly, schools and educational institutes still remain shut. This year, many examinations have been cancelled including the board examinations of classes 10 and 12. Examinations for most of the colleges and universities are being taken online. SFI has been demanding to reopen the schools and colleges immediately.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also declared that, if the situation permits, classes may start in schools on alternative days.

To protest online classes, SFI is holding offline classes on the roads. One such class has already started on the road in front of Jadavpur University where professors have joined to take classes.

“The classes there will commence till 14 August and such initiative will be taken across the state on 12 August.” Professor Nandini Mukherjee who joined in the movement with the students and took class, said, “The students who stay in the remote area are suffering. Many of my students are not being able to get the facility of attending online classes due to poor network connections. The government has granted permission to reopen everything instead of educational institutions.”

She further said, “There must be a proper plan to reopen the schools, colleges and universities. To function the entire system Properly government needs to open the campus immediately with proper protection.”

SFI State General Secretary Srijan Bhattacharya, said, “Government is not prioritising education. Central Government, in their New Education Policy, has focused on online mode of education and state Government is backing. The basic structure of the education system is on the verge of abolition. So we have started a symbolic protest.”

Punjab Government has already opened the schools. Schools in Delhi also partially reopened.

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