Karnataka Govt to Replace NEP with New State Education Policy; BJP Slams ‘Ridiculous’ Move – News18

The Congress-led Karnataka government will scrap the NEP adopted by the previous BJP government and will be introducing a new state education policy that ensures “quality education,” Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar announced on Monday.

Speaking to the media, Shivakumar said it is a state subject. “Karnataka has a very significant strength in educational policies. We have a strong presence in terms of human resources, being a knowledge capital. We have the highest number of international schools, regular schools, engineering colleges, medical colleges and nursing colleges. We have developed our own system of providing quality education. We have stood out across the entire country. So, today, we examined all these aspects and have decided that we will scrap the National Education Policy (NEP) adopted by the BJP government. From the next year, we will introduce a new Karnataka Education Policy.”

A committee will be formed in the next one week to move this forward, he added.

Karnataka Higher Education Minister M C Sudhakar welcomed the move and stated, “Topics have been twisted to cater to their (BJP’s) ideology. It’s not just about assessment or the mode of teaching.”

“We will also be making announcements regarding students who are already studying under NEP. We will be curtailing four-year courses to three years. An expert committee will decide on all of this,” he added.

Grants from the Union Government have already decreased for higher education. Even BJP-ruled states have not implemented the NEP, he noted.

The BJP has criticized the move, stating that the statements by the Congress government are “ridiculous.”

The Joint Spokesperson of BJP Karnataka, S Prakash, told CNN-News18 the state government “have decided to play with the future of the students” and that “ridiculous statements are being made.”