Sonam Wangchuk has announced support for the CJP's June 6 protest.
He cited broader concerns about India's education system and reforms.
Wangchuk said accountability is needed for examination and education-related failures.
Education reformer and activist Sonam Wangchuk has announced that he will join the June 6 protest by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan if he does not step down by June 5.
Wangchuk said that he was joining the protest due to broader concerns over the state of the Indian education system as well as the unsatisfactory implementation of education reforms introduced by the government.
The CJP, a youth-driven social media movement, has called for a protest at the Jantar Mantar on June 6 when its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, is scheduled to return to India.
Wangchuk Talks with Dipke
In a video message posted on Instagram Wangchuk said that he had talked with Dipke and sought assurances that the movement reflected the voice of the youth and did not serve foreign interests.
“After speaking with him, I genuinely felt that they do not have any wrong intentions; they are highly patriotic. In fact, they are making a sacrifice to improve the country,” Wangchuk said.
He also confirmed that his participation in the protest is not only motivated by the alleged NEET paper leak controversy as well as the issues in the CBSE and CUET examination, his support is based upon concerns over the state of the overall education system in India.
“For the last four decades, I have been striving and fighting (to make improvements) in the field of education,” Wangchuk said, referring to his work in government schools in remote areas.
Accountability Needed
He said that the issues in India’s education system are playing with the lives of millions of students.
“So, to reform all of this, I would urge the Prime Minister that in any self-respecting country, in a democracy, any self-respecting education minister would resign if such things happen; if papers are leaked, and nothing is functioning properly,” the activist added.
Wangchuk also referred to the efforts of the Government in the field of education as well intentioned but said that the goal of a developed India by 2047 was contingent on implementation of suitable policies and not “on mere desires alone”.
He ended the clip by saying, “Friends, I have always had a slogan: If not now, when? If not us, who? If not now, then when? And if not us, then who will bring change to India?”
