There is no rationale behind draft National Education Policy: Educationist

P.S. Yadapadithaya (second from left), Vice-Chancellor of Mangalore University, and retired English professor Sukumar Gowda (third from left) at a workshop on the draft National Education Policy 2019 in Mangaluru on Monday.

Expressing concern over the growing alienation between teacher and student, educationalist Sukumara Gowda said on Monday that the draft National Education Policy 2019 has ignored this primary aspect of education.

Inaugurating a deliberation on the draft, organised jointly by Mangalore University and the Bengaluru-based Centre for Educational and Social Studies (CESS) at the university, Mr. Gowda said the classroom is not just four pillars, but involves human contact between teacher and student.

“Modern education is suffering now as the government has ignored this [human contact],” he said. “Uniform, attendance, and other forms of regimentation in colleges has led to alienation between teachers and students. The intimacy and proximity in education is missing,” he said, expressing the need for the NEP to bridge the widening gap between teachers and students.

Mr. Gowda said the draft policy does not make any mention of sources, namely the Constitution of India and the social ethos of the country. “There is no rationale behind this policy. It is a blind spot,” he said.

While expressing the need to look at the new policy with an open mind, P.S. Yadapadithaya, Vice-Chancellor of Mangalore University, said deliberations should be on whether the draft policy postulates were implementable. The recommendations in the draft should be properly analysed and “we should not suffer from past hangovers”.

Points gathered in deliberations will be used by the university to place its view on the NEP before the Karnataka Higher Education Council, which, in turn, will forward it to the Union Human Resource Development Ministry by July 31, Mr. Yadapadithaya said.

Deputy Director of CESS Gourish Joshi also spoke.