BENGALURU: A group of students voiced their problems with the implementation of the New Education Policy (NEP) in colleges including the lack of options due to the absence of teachers for elective subjects and the complete void of classes when it comes to digital fluency or health and wellness and even yoga.
They staged a protest at the city's Mysore Bank Circle on Wednesday under the aegis of the All India Save Education Committee which is leading a nationwide protest and AIDSO.
"No digital fluency class. No open elective also. None of the other additions under NEP such as health and wellness or compulsory yoga are being held," a student from a government college in the city told The New Indian Express.
"We are not allowed to choose the elective that we want," said a BCom student who wanted to choose journalism but was asked to pick the elective recommended by the college.
Other students too confirmed that they were not given the autonomy to select their electives citing lack of teachers. "Only if 20 students opt for it will the course be offered as an open elective," said another student.
Rajashekar, state president of All India Save Education Committee, told The New Indian Express that after 1.5 years of COVID, the government should have been more sensitive in starting the teaching learning process in colleges properly.
Additionally, there is an excess of 2.8 lakh students who have passed from PUC after examinations were cancelled and all were passed. The government should have ideally created infrastructure and appointed more lecturers for 50 percent more students in colleges. Instead, the number of compulsory core subjects has been reduced from three to two, he said, adding that guest faculty have not yet been appointed.
Vice Chancellor of Bengaluru City University Lingaraju Gandhi told The New Indian Express that the onus of making arrangements to give the electives to students is on the colleges -- the latter has to make arrangements either by bringing in guest faculty or sending students to neighbouring colleges.
He agreed that colleges may be forcing students to take an open elective due to practical constraints; however, arrangements have to be made for teaching the electives students choose, otherwise, the spirit of NEP is lost.