After meeting with representatives of different educational institutions and officials in Bengaluru on Monday, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that the state government will form a new education policy scrapping the National Education Policy, 2020.
“We had serious discussions about the education policy and the meeting was attended by representatives from various educational institutions and other officials. We have decided in our manifesto to discontinue the NEP 2020,” DK Shivakumar said.
He further said that states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala have already scrapped the policy adding that the government will constitute a new committee to work on a new education policy for the state.
“Karnataka has good Human Resources and it’s a knowledge hub. We have our own system of quality education system. So we are scrapping the National Education Policy. We don’t want any Nagpur education policy. We are forming a new committee within a week and they will look into it,” the Deputy CM added.
Earlier in a tweet on X (formerly Twitter), DK Shivakumar claimed that the education system in Karnataka is a “model for the country.”
“The education system in Karnataka is a model for the country. That is why Bangalore is the IT capital today. So many people in the state are in good positions abroad, because of our education system”, the Deputy CM shared on X.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah earlier last week said that the NEP will be cancelled from the next academic year in the state.
He said that the NEP implemented by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government will be completely cancelled from the next academic year.
“NEP has to be abolished after making some necessary preparations. The academic year had begun by the time the election results were out and the government was formed… NEP has been continued this year to avoid inconvenience to the students in the middle of the year,” the CM said.
NEP has been opposed by students, parents and lecturers, and teachers simultaneously, he added.
Earlier in July this year, Karnataka primary education Minister Madhu Bangarappa said that the state education department has decided not to adopt the NEP but instead will implement the State Education Policy (SEP).
It may be noted that NEP 2020 launched in July 2020 provides a set of guiding principles for a paradigm shift across the education sector in India from school to doctoral level.