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Karnataka CM lays out plan to help in implementation of NEP
The launch of the new system comes at a time when the state government has been forced to resume physical classes in schools in Karnataka due to lack of connectivity for around 40% of students mostly living in rural and backward regions.
Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said that the state would launch a research & development policy for synergy between institutes undertaking such work as well as help implement the National Education Policy (NEP-2020).
“If we want NEP to succeed, we must make it reach every child across the state. Digitisation is important in education for which we will bring a new digitisation policy,” Bommai said on Monday.
Dharmendra Pradhan, the Union minister for education, skill development and entrepreneurship virtually launched the admission process for higher education for the year 2021-22 under the Unified University and College Management System, making Karnataka the first state to implement the policy.
“Karnataka has taken a lead role and has become a laboratory in implementation of NEP. India has a huge number of about 310 million who belong to the student community (class 1 to higher education) and with 25 million being newly added every year, the real challenge lies in making the benefits of NEP reach to all these. The success of NEP will enable creating a new global order,” Pradhan said, according to a statement by the Karnataka government.
The launch of the new system comes at a time when the state government has been forced to resume physical classes in schools in Karnataka due to lack of connectivity for around 40% of students mostly living in rural and backward regions.
The chief minister also said that broadband networking would be made available in all corners of the state. Bommai said there are about 180 R&D centres in Bengaluru but lamented the lack of any connect with students.
“There are over 180 R&D centres in Bengaluru related to every sector but what is the connect between the students and the R&D centres? I want a synergy between students and the R&D centres,” he said.
Bommai hailed the launch of NEP as “liberation day” and that it would free the education system from “vertical silos, compartmentalization and closed jacket structure of teaching-learning process”.
“Digitisation plays a crucial role in education today apart from business and governance. Therefore (the) government will bring out (a) Digitisation Policy to enhance network connectivity in each village,” he said.
Bommai said that such programmes will be given due preferences in the coming budgets despite constraints.
He also announced that tablet PCs will be given this year also for those joining first year degree courses. “The policy which has been introduced under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after 34 years, has been drafted after wider consultations and considering more than 300,000 suggestions. The vice-chancellors will have to play a crucial role in its’ effective implementation,” Dr. CN Ashwath Narayan, the minister of higher education, who unveiled the MoU of Internationalization of Higher Education said. He added that the NEP will break the barriers and bring together science-arts-humanities, curricular-extra curricular, theoretical knowledge-skill development etc.
