NEP to be scrapped in state from next academic year says Karnataka CM

The NEP was launched by the Union government on July 29, 2020 with an aim to transform the country’s education system.

Bengaluru: The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 will be withdrawn from Karnataka’s higher education institutions from the next academic year, chief minister Siddaramaiah announced on Monday.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah with deputy CM DK Shivakumar and party leader at the General Body Meeting of Karnataka Congress, at KPCC office in Bengaluru on Monday. (ANi)

He, however, clarified that NEP, implemented by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, will continue for the current academic year to avoid inconvenience to students in the middle of the session.

“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,” Siddaramaiah said.

Speaking during a meeting at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office in Bengaluru, the chief minister further said that NEP has been opposed by various stakeholders, including students, parents and lecturers and teachers. He also accused the previous BJP regime of sacrificing the interest of students by implementing NEP in Karnataka even before other states implemented it.

“NEP is simultaneously opposed by students, parents, lecturers and teachers. The BJP has sacrificed the interest of the students of the country by implementing NEP for the first time in the state without implementing it in the country,” he said.

Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar said the state government intends to craft a new education policy that aligns with its vision. He also asserted that NEP encroaches upon the state’s prerogatives, highlighting the government’s contention that it violates the state’s rights in the domain of education.

Karnataka became the first to adopt NEP in higher education, in August 2021. However, in the run-up to the assembly elections in May, the Congress had promised to scrap the NEP in its poll manifesto. During the recent budget session of the state legislature, Siddaramaiah had said that it will be replaced by a state education policy (SEP).

When the policy was adopted by the BJP government in the southern state, the Congress, which was in opposition, had criticised the move, labelling the NEP as the “Nagpur Education Policy”, a direct reference to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — the Nagpur-headquartered ideological fountainhead of the BJP.

The NEP was launched by the Union government on July 29, 2020 with an aim to transform the country’s education system — aligning it with needs of the future while keeping it “rooted in Indianness”. The NEP replaced an education policy that was in place since 1986, and recommended a major overhaul in India’s education system at all levels from school to higher education.

There was no immediate reaction from the BJP on the announcement of scrapping of the NEP from next academic year.

Earlier, senior BJP leader and former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai had said that the NEP was implemented after consultations from all states. “A committee headed by UR Rao was set up and consent from all states was obtained. Before implementation, a task force was formed and then it was implemented in higher and primary education,” he had said.