Karnataka to implement its own education policy in place of NEP

Bengaluru(Karnataka ) [India], July 8 : Karnataka primary education Minister Madhu Bangarappa said on Saturday that the state education department has decided not to adopt the National Education Policy( NEP) but instead will implement the State Education Policy (SEP).

"Education department has decided that NEP will not be implemented in Karnataka. We are planning to implement SEP (State Education Policy) on the suggestion of the professional team," the minister said after visiting a model government Primary School in Bengaluru.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy has criticised NEP as being one-sided. "NEP is not good. It is one-sided. this is a democratic country. A lot of religions are there. We will implement our own policy," Ramalinga Reddy said

The minister's statement came a day after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in his budget speech, announced that his government would withdraw the NEP and would, instead, be formulating one of its own in keeping with the local realities.

Saying that NEP does not augur well for a country as diverse as India, he argued that it is incompatible with the federal system of governance.

"The National Education Policy implemented by the central government is incompatible with the federal system of governance. It has several anomalies which undermine the Constitution and democracy. A uniform education system does not suit a nation like India, which has diverse religions, languages and cultures," Siddaramaiah had said.

NEP at the higher education level was implemented in the state by the previous BJP government. And it was also in the process of rolling it out in schools.

In June, Karnataka Higher Education Minister MC Sudhakar said that while the Congress had widely publicised its intention to scrap the National Education Policy (NEP), a thorough analysis of the policy's pros and cons is necessary before making any hasty decisions.

"We want to analyze the positives and negatives of the policy. As mentioned in the manifesto, state education policy will be implemented but at the same time, students' betterment should also be taken into consideration. The opposition will always have its way of interpreting things. We are going to fulfil what we have promised," MC Sudhakar had said.

It may be noted that NEP 2020 launched in July 2020 provides a set of guiding principles for a paradigm shift across the education sector in India from school to doctoral level.