New Delhi: Raising “serious concerns” over the Karnataka Government’s decision to scrap the National Education Policy (NEP) in the state, Union Education and Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told the State Government not to weaponise education.
Pradhan said scrapping the NEP would compromise the interests of students of Karnataka. Addressing the media he asked about the repercussions, that such a decision will have for the younger generation of Karnataka.
It may be mentioned that the newly elected Congress government of Karnataka yesterday announced its decision to scrap the National Education Policy (NEP), which was introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre in 2020. The State government said it would come out with a state education policy that would be implemented from the next academic year.
The Union Education Minister questioned the decision of the State Government as to why it did not want students to learn about new and emerging technologies and consequent life skills in the 21st century while utilising new textbooks relevant to 21st-century education. He expressed concerns over the missed opportunities for earning while learning for Karnataka students. “Does the State Government not want teachers’ capacity building to be strengthened through reimagining DIETs [District Institutes for Education and Training] and SCERTs [Social Communication, Emotional Regulation, and Transactional Support] as centres-of-excellence, ” Pradhan asked.
The Minister said it was a decision which would impact the collective future of the state, known for its IT prowess, in the future. He sought a reply to the questions that he raised today.
He asked whether the Karnataka Government was opposed to early childhood care and education as a part of formal education. He wondered if the State Government did not want children to achieve Foundational Literacy and Numeracy by the time they complete grade 2. He sought to know if the State Government opposed Indian toys, games, play-based learning and ‘Chennemane’ in Karnataka.
Pradhan further asked if the State Government opposed education in Kannada and other Indian languages, along with the conducting of examinations, like NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test), CUET (Common University Entrance Test), JEE (Joint Entrance Examination) in Kannada, in a transparent manner.
He also questioned if the State Government opposed multidisciplinary education, integration of vocational education, physical education, arts and sports as critical areas of study in school education. Does the State Government not want the youth of Karnataka to avail of world-class research facilities through the National Research Foundation, he further asked.
– global bihari bureau
This is one sided story with views of a Central Government Minister. Looking forward to read the Karnataka state education policy, why they scrapped Centers Education policy.