Congress' Siddaramaiah demands Karnataka govt to withdraw decision to implement NEP

On Friday, senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Karnataka assembly K Siddaramaiah urged the state government to withdraw its decision to implement the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The former Chief Minister was responding to a letter written by the office of the Minister of Higher Education CN Ashwath Narayan informing about the implementation of the NEP. The Higher Education Ministry letter sought an appointment with the Leader of Opposition to discuss the same. Siddaramaiah, while criticizing the Karnataka government for the implementation of the NEP, claimed that the intention behind the NEP was to indoctrinate students with the idea of communalism through education. It also infringes upon the autonomy of states over schooling and universities.

Siddaramaiah replies to Ashwath Narayan 

In his reply to Minister of Higher Education CN Ashwath Narayan, ex-CM Siddaramaiah pointed out many objections and concerns about NEP. The Congress leader proclaimed that the NEP violates federal arrangements and infringes upon the autonomy of States over education and universities. Siddaramaiah said, "It (NEP) promotes privatisation leading to inequality and social injustice. The intention is to indoctrinate students with the idea of communalism through education. It is to be noted that the government has already decided and inaugurated to implement the said policy from the current academic year, without any discussion with the students, teachers, education experts or opposition. It is not correct to call for discussion now after inaugurating the implementation." 

Noting that policy changes in education and health are not minor issues, Siddaramaiah said detailed deliberations should have been initiated democratically before drafting such cases with broad implications. The opposition leader said, "India has a high student to teacher ratio, which should come down for the benefit of students. Also, the government allocation for education as a percentage of GDP is very low. The NEP also recommends the allocation to education to be at 6 per cent of GDP. So then Karnataka should allocate about Rs 1.08 lakh Crore."

Siddaramaiah claims NEP to be unscientific

A release by Congress leader Siddaramaiah's office mentioned, "The NEP is unscientific and will push lakhs of students to darkness," Further, suggesting that the government should have discussed and debated these issues before the implementation, the Congress Legislature Party leader said, NEP decides the future of many students shaping their next 70-80 years. "Education is a tool for social elevation for many marginalised sections. Has BJP implemented NEP to prevent this elevation of social status among marginalised sections?" he asked.

"If there has to be a debate about NEP in good spirit, I urge the government to withdraw the implementation of NEP immediately and we will come for discussion about that. If, after deliberations, NEP is found to be good, we will support the government to implement NEP. Otherwise, the government will have to take the burden of pushing lakhs of people to misery," he added.

NEP 2020

The National Education Policy 2020 envisions India's approach to a modern education system. The new policy replaced the previous National Policy on Education in 1986. The policy is a comprehensive framework for no only elementary education but also higher education. The policy aims to transform India's education system by 2040. While introducing the policy, the government had clarified that students would not be forced to study any particular language. However, it maintained that the medium of instruction would not be shifted from English to any regional language.

Image Credit: Twitter