MC Sudhakar, Karnataka Minister for Higher Education, stated that the government is not in a rush to abolish the National Education Policy (NEP-2020) in the higher education sector. He said a thorough examination of the policy will be conducted and a report will be submitted to the Chief Minister before making an appropriate decision. Sudhakar made these remarks during a media interaction at the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) on Wednesday.
The Congress party's Assembly election manifesto had stated that they would scrap the NEP. Sudhakar said the primary concern of their party is the saffronisation of education at the primary and secondary levels by the BJP government. Issues like textbook revision are not relevant to higher education, he said.
DK Shivakumar, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, had stated on Wednesday that the state would not adhere to the Nagpur Education Policy, emphasising the Congress party's commitment to formulating a unique State Education Policy for Karnataka. Shivakumar highlighted the party's manifesto designed specifically for the state and said: "Karnataka will develop its own comprehensive State Education Policy."
Sudhakar acknowledged that the NEP has introduced several positive initiatives in the higher education sector, such as flexibility in subject selection, assessment patterns, and teaching methodologies. However, he criticised the previous government for hastily implementing the NEP in order to please the Union government. He stressed the need for thorough preparation in terms of infrastructure and ensuring that teachers are well-informed about the NEP.
During his visit to the KEA office, Sudhakar interacted with students who had encountered issues due to errors in their application forms. The Minister highlighted the importance of educating students at the pre-university college level to fill application forms for Common Entrance Test (CET). He also expressed his intention to work together with the Department of School Education and Literacy to address this issue.