BENGALURU: A recently conducted survey among students in the State showed that 83 percent do not want the government to continue the four-year degree course implemented under the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) in Karnataka. The NEP rule allows students multiple entry and exit points to finish their higher education.
The survey showed that 97 percent of students also want the government to establish engineering colleges in all districts of Karnataka.
The survey was conducted by the All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO) for two months and the findings were presented to the 15-member State Education Policy (SEP) Commission for consideration. A total of 23,120 students from nine government universities, 82 government degree colleges, 12 government engineering colleges, and 15 government student hostels participated in the study.
Each stakeholder was met personally and opinions were collected in written form through a 9-point questionnaire, and 20 percent of the total collected responses were considered as samples. The survey highlighted that over 4,551 participants opposed the idea of the government clustering schools in the name of low enrolment, and demanded that the authorities set up better infrastructure and facilities.
Around 98.52 percent surveyed also said that the State government should take full financial responsibility for the management of government schools and colleges and not rely on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds or donations from students. “Over 20,000 students who participated in the survey agreed that making government institutions financially autonomous and increasing fees would be detrimental to democratic education. The hasty implementation of NEP-2020 in the State has created many problems,” the survey report stated.
The survey, which included students, parents, and teachers, also found that they were not happy with FDI and foreign universities taking over the education sector.