NEP may encourage more college dropouts: Mins

The state government’s decision to scrap the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and replace it with a State Education Policy (SEP) has stirred a hornet’s nest, with opinions sharply divided.
However, ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections, the debate has boiled down to a political battle between the Congress government in the state and principal opposition BJP.
Speaking to STOI, Karnataka higher education minister Dr MC Sudhakar and primary and secondary education minister Madhu Bangarappa said with NEP, the BJP had been trying to defend the indefensible. The minister duo even went to the extent of suggesting that NEP may encourage more dropouts from educational institutions. Excerpts from interactions with the ministers:
What are the reasons behind scrapping NEP?
Our contention is that if NEP was to be introduced, then it ought to have been launched for primary and secondary education. Without building the foundation, they were trying to build a house by implementing it directly with higher education.
Do you believe NEP is unviable for Karnataka?
The problem is that the policy apes the Western education system by introducing four-year degree courses. There have been serious objections from the SC/ST, OBC and minority communities who feel that this extra year of education is an additional financial burden on them. Secondly, there is an issue with infrastructure. While private institutions may have all the streams under one roof, courses at government institutions are segregated.
Will there be more dropouts if NEP is implemented?
There are two schools of thoughts here. Some believe that if a student drops out due to financial and/or family constraints after the first or second year of under-graduation, then he or she can at least build a resume, stating that he or she is either a certificate or di ploma holder, instead of being identified as a 12thstandard pass. On the other hand, the new system will encourage students to exit early without pursuing the full course.
So, which part of NEP will be retained under SEP?
We will be building the SEP based on the Karnataka Knowledge Commission Education Policy 2016, which has been prepared by the same Dr Kasturirangan who has drafted NEP. We will be customizing SEP based on our socioeconomic conditions.
The BJP contends that scrapping NEP was more of a political decision than academic. Your thoughts?
Had Karnataka been the only state to have rejected NEP, that argument would hold some water. But then, how many BJP-ruled states have implemented it?
There is an argument that if CBSE and ICSE schools accept NEP, a gap will emerge with state syllabi schools following SEP…
We have different syllabi now as well. People will continue to have these choices. Further, private schools may have the infrastructure for proposed Kindergarten, LKG and UKG classes, which the government cannot match with its anganwadis, where it does not have enough teachers.
But, NAAC and other central institutions may still insist on NEP implementation as a criterion for funding. What about that?
I don’t think NAAC will act foolishly, unless there is an agenda being driven by the saffron party. Assam and Madhya Pradesh are the only two states saying that they will implement NEC. No other state is talking about NEP. Will NAAC reject all other state universities and colleges?
Won’t SEP implementation by next year be too irrational a target?
Universities for backward classes and minority universities will have to be taken into account here. While we agree that there is not much time left, the KKC 2016 policy will be the premise.
The BJP accuses the state government of abolishing NEP without understanding it. Your reaction?
Before they ask us, let me ask them: Why did they not implement this in the other states where they are in power? Why are Kerala and Tamil Nadu also opposing NEP?
Ours is a federal system because of our diversity, but BJP has the habit of being a control freak. They want to control the education system and once they do that, they will start imposing their ideology on others. While we should learn from each other’s culture and language, we should not forget ours.
What are the changes that SEP will bring in?
We will align primary education with what higher education does. BJP said under NEP, students will be able to find jobs even if they exit [their degree courses] after the first or second year. But the point is, since they have failed to create enough jobs for those who have completed their degrees, what will they do for those who haven’t?
If CBSE/ICSE schools implement NEP and the state syllabus schools don’t, won’t that create a difference? How will the government tackle that?
Karnataka public schools are becoming popular. They are bilingual schools, where English medium is more popular, but we are not going to neglect the Kannada medium. We are starting more LKG, UKG sections. We have implemented a second supplementary for PUC. Will NEP ever do that? We brought in practicals for all PU subjects and while NEP mandates a 40% weightage, we have restricted it to 20% in order to ensure that students study all through the year. Earlier, we used to spend Rs 10,000 per school. Now, we have doubled that amount.