Bengaluru : Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, at Karnataka Pradesh  Congress Committee (KPCC)  meeting at the party office that  Karnataka will scrap the National Education Policy  2020 (NEP)  from the next academic year.  CM said,” The NEP must be abolished after the necessary preparations, which could not be done on time this year. By the time the election results were out (this may) and the new government formed, the academic year has already started. And making changes to NEP in the middle of the academic session would have created problems”. He added.

Students, parents and lecturers have raised their objections to NEP. Siddaramiah accused the BJP of hindering the interest of students by implementing NEP in Karnataka, even before the other state could do so.  However, Academics in the state had mixed reactions to the CM’s announcement.

An Educationist sharing his view said, the government should form a new committee as soon as possible as policy formation takes time. “The policy should clearly spell out the vision for the next 15-20 years,” he said. Adding that the focus should be on quality and equitable distribution of educational facilities in the large context of human rights, constitutional values and mainly Right to Education.

Madangopal M, who headed task force for the implementation of NEP in the state, said “ There are some good points in NEP, The government should have continued with those, rather than decard it completely, without understanding the nitty gritties”. According to him NEP includes many structural and academic reforms, along with incorporation of progressive measure in teacher education, skill development, a multi-disciplinary approach towards education and flexibility in choosing subjects, which should have been retained.

Meantime,All-India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO) welcomed the government’s decision to scrap the four-year degree course rule proposed under NEP.