The Karnataka government, under Congress leadership, has decided to do away with the National Education Policy (NEP), previously adopted by the BJP-led government. Instead, they are set to introduce a fresh state education policy, focused on ensuring "quality education," announced Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday, August 21.
Speaking to the media, Shivakumar said, “The Karnataka government had recently convened a meeting with Vice Chancellors, academics, and government officials. Despite the nationwide introduction of the NEP in 2021, none of the BJP-ruled states such as Uttar Pradesh or Madhya Pradesh have embraced it. States like Kerala and Tamil Nadu have already rejected the NEP. In contrast, in Karnataka, the NEP was rushed into implementation. Any policy in education should start from the primary education.”
The Deputy Chief Minister went on to explain that a new state education policy would be rolled out, starting from the upcoming year. He also said that a committee would be established within the next week to take the move forward. “Karnataka's education system is a model for the country. That's why Bengaluru is the IT capital today. Due to our education system, many people from the state are in good positions both at home and abroad. We promised to scrap the National Education Policy and bring back the State Education Policy, and we are committed to that promise,” Shivakumar said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ನೀತಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದಂತೆ ಇಂದು ವಿಧಾನಸೌಧದಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದ ಸಭೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಿ, ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ನೀತಿಯ ಸಾಧಕ - ಬಾಧಕಗಳ ಕುರಿತು ಚರ್ಚಿಸಲಾಯಿತು. ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ನೀತಿಯ ಗುಣಮಟ್ಟವನ್ನು ಹೆಚ್ಚಿಸಲು ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಬದ್ಧವಾಗಿದೆ. ನಮ್ಮ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಮಕ್ಕಳನ್ನು ಅಂತರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಮಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧಾತ್ಮಕವಾಗಿ ಸಿದ್ದಗೊಳಿಸಬೇಕು. ಪ್ರಾಥಮಿಕ… pic.twitter.com/zndrKQUnad
— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) August 21, 2023
Karnataka Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah had convened a meeting with university chancellors operating under the state government's jurisdiction, alongside senior officials from the higher education department on August 21. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed the view that the National Education Policy (NEP) should be discarded, but it required appropriate preparations, which could not be done in time this year.
Siddaramaiah said that since education is a state subject a committee would be set up to formulate education policy for the state, while continuing the old education system till the new policy comes into force. It was also alleged that the NEP was formulated without taking the state governments into confidence and education policy cannot be imposed by the Union government. He was further of the opinion that what is being imposed is a conspiracy and a uniform education system cannot be established in a country like India with multicultural and pluralistic society.
The CM also instructed officials to distribute laptops under the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) and the Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) schemes to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students studying in universities. The Principal Secretary of the Social Welfare Department was instructed to allocate Rs 230 crore under the SCSP and TSP schemes for distribution of laptops.
Higher Education Minister MC Sudhakar, Minister of School Education and Literacy Department Madhu Bangarappa, Deputy Chief Secretary to Chief Minister Rajneesh Goyal, Deputy Chief Secretary of the Department of Higher Education SR Umashankar, Deputy Secretary of Finance Department LK Ateeq, other senior officials and chancellors of various universities were among those who attended the meeting.