NEP to be scrapped from next academic year in Karnataka

The Congress-ruled Karnataka government on Monday declared that it would scrap the National Education Policy (NEP) of the previous BJP government from the next academic year.

Speaking at the KPCC office after inaugurating the general meeting of party members, Chief Minister SIddaramaiah made this announcement. “The NEP implemented by the previous BJP government would be scrapped from the next academic year,” Siddaramaiah declared.

“Certain required preparation has to be done before scrapping the NEP. There was no time available in the current academic year for this. When the government was formed following the elections, the academic year had begun,” he explained.

The NEP will continue in this academic year keeping the hardships of the students in mind if it is scrapped abruptly, he stated.

"NEP faces stiff opposition from students, parents, teachers and lecturers. BJP has sacrificed the interests of the students from the state by implementing the NEP in the state on experimental basis and by not implementing it in all states," CM Siddaramaiah charged.

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had announced that the Congress won’t implement the NEP in the state. Instead, the government would formulate a new education policy, he said. Shivakumar had even dubbed NEP as the Nagpur Education Policy referring to the RSS headquarters in Nagpur city.

Shivakumar maintained, “There should have been elaborate discussion on the NEP. I am an education expert by choice. I run education institutions and in the post of trustee or president in various institutions. I can’t understand the NEP. I tried to study and understand twice or thrice, but failed.” Even after discussing with students and teachers, not able to grasp the gist of NEP, Shivakumar maintained.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had charged that the objective of NEP is to teach communal things to students. He also opined that the National Education Policy violates the rights of the state.

Commenting on the development, former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had stated, “to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) in Karnataka, nearly three years have been taken. The committee headed by U.R. Rao was set up and consent from all states obtained. After this, before implementation, a task force was formed and then it was implemented in higher and primary education,” he maintained.