BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah officially announced the formulation of a New Education Policy in the state, opting not to continue with the central government’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. He said NEP 2020 has several anomalies and does not suit the diversity of India. “NEP implemented by the Central government is incompatible with the federal system of governance. It has several anomalies which undermine the Constitution and democracy. A Uniform Education System does not suit a nation like India which has diverse religions, languages and cultures,” he said, criticising NEP.
As a counter to NEP, he announced that a new education policy would be formulated to take into account local requirements in terms of the social, cultural and economical environment of children. “The new policy will elevate the higher education standards in the state to the global level and empower our youth to compete globally and gain meaningful employment opportunities,” he said. The announcement comes following several meetings with stakeholders across last month.
But the announcement met with mixed reactions. RV University Vice-Chancellor Prof YSR Murthy called the decision regressive. “Many institutions in Karnataka have already implemented it. Any major policy change like this will create avoidable confusion in the minds of teachers, students and other stakeholders. As most other states are implementing NEP, it could deter students and parents from choosing higher educational institutions in Karnataka,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ajay Kamath, state secretary of the All-India Democratic Students Organisation which had campaigned for a removal of the policy, called the decision a victory. “It is desired that the New Education Policy to be formulated in the state should be democratic and secular, and not strengthen privatisation, commercialisation and communalisation of education,” he said.