Teachers and researchers protest to get robust funding for scientific research

Around 500 teachers and researchers from premier higher educational institutions marched in central Kolkata on Wednesday demanding funding for formulating policies for evidence-based science and for education and scientific research. Organized by the scientific community, the ‘India March for Science’ protested against spread of unscientific beliefs and attempts to inculcate myth-based and belief-based thinking in the curriculum. Asish Samanta, spokesperson of Breakthrough Society and a senior society, urged the government to create policies that are based on evidence-based science.

A lot of scientists participated in the march, including researchers from Calcutta University, Presidency University, and Jadavpur University, among others. India’s scientific community has been organizing the ‘March for Science’ since 2017. The funding for education is under 3% of the GDP and the funding for scientific research remains under 0.8% of the GDP. The organizing committee also protested against the introduction of unscientific ideas in the educational curriculum through ‘Indian Knowledge Systems’.