Privatization of technical education along with privatization of entire higher education has become the general policy of the ruling classes of the country. At the diktats of WTO, services are being privatized rapidly. Recently the Punjab Government increased the fees of Indian Technical Institutes (ITIs) from Rs. 3,500 per year to Rs. 12,000 per year. Alongwith, it decided to give 17 ITIs on contract.

The privatization of education and educational establishments by the Punjab Government has been challenged by the ITI students under the leadership of Punjab Students Union (PSU). On the call of PSU a statewide strike in ITIs was observed on 6th April 2005, in which students of most ITIs in Patiala, Nabha, Malerkotla, Dhuri, Barnala, Sangrur, Jagraon, Manuke, Moga, Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur, Ropar, Garshankar, Nawashahr, Banga, Kapurthala, Samrala, Ferozepur etc. participated. Apart from observing total strike students held protest demonstrations which were addressed by student leaders. Four other student organizations supported the strike.

The striking students raised slogans of stop privatization of ITIs, take back fee hike, down with WTO, etc. The mass meetings were addressed by PSU State President Raminder Singh Patiala, General Secretary Gurmukh Singh Mann, Vice President Kulvinder Singh Chahal and other executive committee members.

The student leaders pointed out that the government is privatizing technical education under pressure of World Bank and by this financially poor students would be left out of industrial training. They also pointed out that there are 1600 teaching posts in 128 ITIs and of these 65% are vacant. Thus machines and buildings worth crores of rupees are lying unused. They demanded employment of more teachers and other employees. Alongside it was demanded that question papers should be in mother tongue, new courses on modern techniques should be started in ITIs and complete material should be supplied for experiments. PSU leaders also demanded that Punjab Government should decide the admission policy and fee structure of existing private ITIs.

Later on, PSU called a joint meeting of active student organizations and ITIs Employees Union on 18th April at Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall in Jalandhar in the context of such a big attack on technical educational institutions by the state government. Three more student organizations (AISA, AIDSO and PSF) along with PSU formed a state level Action Committee. The Action Committee decided to hold a two days’ state dharna (sit in demonstrations) on 27th-28th April against the government’s move to enhance the fee structure, against privatization of ITIs and other major demands of ITI students. On 27th-28th April, large number of students involving 75 ITIs throughout Punjab took part in protest march and held tehsil and district level dharnas in almost all the 17 districts of Punjab. Students of 45 ITIs including those in Patiala, Nabha, Bassi Pathana, Ropar, Ludhiana, Jagraon, Malerkotla, Sangrur, Dhuri, Barnala, Moga, Ferozepur, Phagwara, Nawashahr, Garshankar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Baba-Bakala, Amritsar and Ajnala etc. held protest march and sit in under the leadership of PSU.

By challenging the privatization and commercialization policy of the state government, the ITI students have challenged the globalization policies. A militant and broad based student struggle is needed to defeat this anti-people, anti-student policy of the ruling classes. Students of technical educational institutions should forge closer links with student community at large and other sections of people to force the Govt. to withdraw these policies.