Union Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday criticised the Karnataka government’s decision to scrap the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in the state and called it a “regressive” move that will affect the future of students. The minister appealed to Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar not to do politics over NEP, calling it a visionary philosophical document envisioned by educationists of the country.
“What kind of message you want to give to the youngsters of the country especially the students in Karnataka? What kind of politics is he doing? Do they not want early childhood education and care system to be implemented in Karnataka?,” Pradhan asked Shivakumar while addressing the media.
The minister further said Shivakumar’s statements on NEP may please his politics but it will compromise the interests of students of Karnataka. In a tweet on platform X, Pradhan asked if the state government opposes early childhood care and education, foundational literacy and numeracy, education in mother tongue, and other tenets of NEP that aim to benefit the students.
Questions for my dear friend @DKShivakumar!
1) Does he and the Congress party oppose early childhood care and education as a part of formal education? Does he not want our children to achieve foundational literacy and numeracy by the time they complete grade 2?
2) Does he… pic.twitter.com/uwje64ynPj
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) August 22, 2023
On Monday, chief minister Siddaramaiah chaired a meeting with other officials on scrapping of NEP in Karnataka. After the meeting, the Chief Minister Office (CMO) issued a statement denouncing NEP in the state.
“Since education is a state subject, the central government cannot formulate education policy. The National Education Policy has been formulated without taking the state governments into confidence. Education policy cannot be imposed by the central government,” a statement said. Furthermore, the statement quoted Siddaramaiah as saying that “what is being imposed (by the Centre) is a conspiracy.”
“A uniform education system cannot be established in a country like India with multicultural and pluralistic society. Therefore, the chief minister said that a committee will be formed to formulate a new education policy while continuing the old education system,” the CMO said.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has announced that it will come up with a state-specific education policy which will be implemented by next year. A committee will be formed to work on the policy within a week, Shivakumar said.