Education a constitutional right: Swara Bhaskar

By Siddhi Jain

Bollywood actress Swara Bhaskar recently voiced her opinion on the controversial fee hike in the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University, of which she is an alumna, by reiterating that education is a constitutional right.

The revision in fee structure in JNU has invoked polarised opinions, and has students up in arms with a tense campus atmosphere.

“I am a taxpayer, I am completely okay with my taxes being used to subsidise higher education because I firmly believe education should not be a commodity that becomes a privilege to only a few people in society, those who can afford it.

“Education is a right, a constitutional right, it is something that should be freely accessible at the highest level. I think that girl child education will not be possible if education in general is not a priority for us in society,” Swara, 31, said at the SDGs Impact Summit.
Swara, who is known for her bold, unapologetic statements, spoke on a broad range of issues from gender equality to health and education as a key component of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).