Enforce USE for Equitable Education

CHENNAI: ‘Uniform School Education (USE) scheme should be brought back to ensure equitable education’ was the common refrain of members of the People’s Alliance for Equitable Education, a collective of NGOs, trade unions and Dalit outfits, while the Tamil Nadu government works its way through the tussle over the common syllabus.At a press meet on Tuesday, K Murthy, State convener of People’s Alliance for Equitable Education, said, “Twenty years ago, Tamil Nadu had a uniform school system. After the 1990s, privatisation started. Slowly, the neighbourhood, State-run schools started disappearing. This rampant cropping up of private schools have brought in a false perception that quality is synonymous with private schools. People don’t want to send their children to State-run schools anymore, thinking it’s of poor quality.”He also stressed that to ensure equality among students, it was imperative to bring back the USE , in which community members participate. He also condemned the slant of the government towards the private school, as he pointed out the skewed composition of revival committee of uniform syllabus.