AIDSO Leader Flags 94,000 School Closures, Demands Defence of Public Education
AIDSO leader Ashwini K.S. said 94,000 government schools closed in a decade, citing funding cuts, and urged students to fight for public education.
Student activist Ashwini K.S., the state president of the All India Democratic Students' Organisation (AIDSO), said on Sunday that more than 94,000 government schools have been shut across the country over the past ten years. She attributed the closures to the defunding of public education infrastructure and called for resistance against the trend.
Speaking at an AIDSO district-level student camp held at KPES School in Dharwad, Ms. Ashwini said the event was organised to mark the 200th birth anniversary of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule. She noted that in Karnataka, the government had attempted to close around 40,000 government schools under the KPS Magnet scheme. According to her, AIDSO's protests argued that these rural schools were essential for poor families, and the government withdrew the move following the opposition.
Ms. Ashwini spoke on the role of students in social change, drawing on the lives of Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule. She said Phule championed universal education against caste-based discrimination, a vision she claimed current governments are undermining by moving education out of the reach of poor students.
She also highlighted immediate concerns, stating that the state government had failed to distribute basic items like shoes and socks three months into the academic year. She pointed to poor school infrastructure, citing an incident in Bagalkot district where eight students were injured after a roof collapse, and referenced similar reports from Kalaburagi, Raichur, and Kodagu districts.
Criticising both Union and state governments for inadequate education funding, Ms. Ashwini said that while over 1.4 crore students graduate annually, only about eight lakh government jobs and roughly 10 lakh private sector jobs are created. She argued that ruling classes fear educated unemployed youth and are attempting to reduce higher education to training for menial roles.
She further alleged that around 40% of national income is concentrated among a few wealthy individuals while over 4,000 children die of hunger daily. Urging students to follow the example of revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, she called for a struggle against injustice and the commercialisation of education.
The camp included group discussions, cultural performances, a film screening, and games for student participants.