Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan Thursday expressed concern over Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s decision to discontinue the National Education Policy, NEP 2020, in the state.
“Education should be a beacon of progress and not a political pawn. Disappointed to learn about Karnataka CM’s politically-motivated decision to discontinue the National Education Policy 2020. Our education system needs evolution, not regression. NEP was a result of years of consultations, reflecting aspirations of all,” he posted on X.
“Karnataka deserves leadership that values progress and inclusivity and not petty politics. Let’s put students first and stop the petty politics,” he added.
This statement comes a few days after CM Siddaramaiah announced, during a meeting at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office, that NEP 2020 will be withdrawn from the state’s higher education institutions from the next academic year.
“NEP has to be abolished after making some necessary preparations. There was no time for preparations this year. By the time the election results came in and the government was formed, the academic year had already started. This year NEP will be continued as it should not cause problems to students in the middle of an academic year,” said Siddaramaiah.
Interestingly, Karnataka was the first state to implement NEP 2020 in higher education institutions, in 2021. However, in the run-up to this year’s state Assembly polls, the Congress had promised to scrap NEP after coming to power.
Additionally, Minister Sudhakar also directed the Board of Studies in all state universities to frame the syllabus only till fifth and sixth semesters in an effort to scrap the four-year honours degree.