Bhubaneswar: Odisha Parents’ Federation sat on a hunger strike Friday demanding the withdrawal of erroneous school textbooks and the expansion of the Right to Education (RTE) provisions in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The protesters alleged that despite the Chief Minister’s earlier announcement to withdraw allegedly incorrect textbooks for Classes I to VIII, the books have not yet been recalled and continue to be distributed and used in schools.
Another key demand of the agitation is the extension of the 25% reservation under the Right to Education (RTE) Act to students from Classes IX to XII and postgraduate education. The federation argued that while the state government has announced the full implementation of NEP 2020 and promised free education from kindergarten to postgraduate level, the RTE quota has not been expanded accordingly.
It cited Paragraph 8.4 of NEP 2020 in support of its demand. The Odisha Parents’ Federation has appealed to its members and parents of RTE beneficiaries across the state to join the hunger strike, describing the protest as a movement to safeguard students’ educational rights.