New State Education Policy to Replace NEP in Karnataka; BJP Criticizes ‘Ridiculous’ Move

According to Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday, the Congress-led Karnataka administration would repeal the NEP that the previous BJP government had enacted and introduce a new state education policy that guarantees “quality education.”

According to Shivakumar, who was speaking to the media, the Karnataka government recently convened a conference with vice chancellors, academics, and government officials. Despite the National Education Policy’s debut in 2021, it’s important to note that none of the states governed by the BJP have shown a strong interest in it or accepted it. According to him, the NEP has been flatly rejected by states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The issue, according to Shivakumar, is a state affair. “Karnataka enjoys a significant advantage in terms of educational policy. As a knowledge capital, we are well-represented in terms of human resources. We have the most regular schools, engineering schools, medical schools, and nursing schools of any country. We have created a unique approach for delivering high-quality education. All around the nation, we have stood out. Therefore, after carefully considering each of these factors, we have chosen to abandon the National Education Policy (NEP) that the BJP administration had implemented. A new Karnataka Education Policy would be implemented starting in the next academic year, he said.

He said that a committee will be established within the next week to further this.

According to M. C. Sudhakar, minister of higher education for Karnataka, the NEP has not been implemented in basic and secondary education. After its launch in 2021, only higher education started using it, he claimed.

“There isn’t any infrastructure. When they implemented NEP in 2021, not a single rupee was allotted. There is even a faculty concern. So, starting in the next school year, the state government would implement a new education policy, according to Sudhakar.

“Topics have been twisted to fit their (the BJP’s) ideology,” he said. It’s not simply about the method of evaluation or instruction.

We’ll also be releasing information on students who are already enrolled in NEP courses. Four-year programs will be reduced to three years. All of this will be decided by an expert committee,” he continued.

Higher education grants from the Union Government have already fallen. Even states where the BJP is in power have not adopted the NEP, he pointed out.

The BJP criticized the action, calling the government of Congress’s claims “ridiculous.”

The state administration, according to BJP Karnataka’s joint spokesperson S Prakash, “have decided to play with the future of the students” and that “ridiculous statements are being made.”