People's Democracy

Hyderabad Getting Ready For 3rd All India Conference Of STFI

School Teachers Federation of India (STFI) is the representative body of 17 associations of teachers in 12 states. Starting as the coordination committee of school teachers’ organisation (CCSTO) in Chennai in 1997, it emerged as STFI holding its first conference in Kolkata on August 12, 2000. STFI’s second conference was held at Palakkad in Kerala from 5-8 February,2002. Now STFI is going to conduct its third conference for two days on the17th and 18th of this month at APSRTC Kalyana Mandapam in Hyderabad. The venue of the conference is named Comrade Appari Venkata Swamy nagar, while the dias of the conference is named Comrade Amal Krishna Bannerjee Manch. Altogether 600 delegates and fraternal delegates from Kerala, Pondichery, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Assam and Karnataka and observers from Orissa, Bihar, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh will be attending to the conference. Arrangements for accommodation are being made for them at RTC Kalyana Mandapam, Sun darayya Vignana Kendram, M B Bhavan and office of APUTF. Reception committee with vice chancellor of Osmania University, Professor Suleiman Siddique as chairman, eminenent educationist Dr C Ramayya as vice chairman, 14 eminent people from different fields, including the media, as patrons, 14 vice presidents, with leaders of UTF as general secretary and treasurer and another 30 members was formed. Different committees have been formed for successful conduct of the conference.

The main slogan of the conference is "save public education – resist communalisation and commercialisation of education". Professor Arjun Dev would inaugurate the conference on the morning of the 17th December. Sitaram Yechury, member of the Rajya Sabha, will participate as the chief guest, while president of AIFUCTO, Professor Thomas Joseph, will deliver the keynote address. The conference will deliberate on the following issues and work out the future programmes of struggle : 1) Right to education bill, 2005. 2) National curriculum framework - 2005. 3) Implementation of (a) programmes of education for all, (b) common school system, and © midday meal programme. 4) Recent judgements of the Supreme Court on (i) right to strike and (ii) reservation in private educational institutions. 5) Constitutional amendments for bringing back education into state subjects and eligibility of 0-6 age group children for right to education. 6) Impact of GATS on Indian education.

On the 18th, a procession with ten thousand teachers would be taken out. After that, a public meeting will be addressed by Sitaram Yechury, Dr C Ramayya and newly elected leaders of the STFI. In connection with the conference president of STFI D Ramireddy, leaders of APUTF Ch Subhas Chandra Bose, N Narayana, K Jojaiah, N Ramanayya Sastry, P Krishna Murthy and M A K Dutt toured extensively in the state and conveyed the message of the conference. During the last month, regional conventions on education were conducted at Visakhapatnam on the 6th, at Vijayawada and Anantapur on 20th and at Karimnagar on 27th. Publicity on a large scale is going on and wall posters and stickers have been displayed at all Mandals, district headquarters and schools.