Date:17/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/17/stories/2008071753370400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

SFI demands more allocation for education, better facilities

Staff Reporter

Bangalore: More than 150 members of the Students Federation of India on Wednesday staged a protest demanding more allocation for education and better facilities in government education institutions.

Speaking to The Hindu, M. Muniraju of SFI said that different units of the federation had staged similar protests throughout the State. “We have taken up the State-wide protest to bring the Government’s attention to our demands. We met with senior officials of the Education Department and submitted our memorandum.”

Quest for 30 p.c.

He said that the State Government should earmark at least 30 per cent of the total funds to education.

“There are a lot of problems in the education sector. With increased allocation, at least some of the major problems such as lack of infrastructure could be solved,” he said.

At present, more than 10 per cent of the total funds are allocated to the education sector.

“We urge the Government to set right the anomalies by allocating more funds in the Budget to be placed on Thursday. We also want the Union Government to earmark 10 per cent of the total funds for education,” he said.

Other demands include strict implementation of the State’s language policy, ensuring that the midday meal scheme is not privatised, increase in the intake in the hostels and hike of the food allowance for students in hostels.