Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah has urged the Karnataka government to withdraw its decision to implement the new National Education Policy (NEP) saying ‘the intention of NEP is to indoctrinate students with the idea of communalism through education’.
The former chief minister claimed, “NEP is unscientific and will push lakhs of students to darkness.”
In a letter to Higher Education Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the government decided to implement the NEP from the current academic year without any discussion with students, teachers, education experts or the opposition.
Noting that policy changes in matters such as education and health were not a minor issue, the former chief minister said, “Governments of many developed countries take complete responsibility of health and education, but here in India, the government is trying to wash its hands off the responsibility.”
India has a high student-to-teacher ratio, which should come down for the benefit of students. The government allocation for education as a percentage of GDP is very low. The NEP also recommends allocation to education at 6% of GDP. in that case, Karnataka should allocate about ₹1.08 lakh crore, he said.
NEP violates federal arrangements and infringes upon the autonomy of States in the matter of education and universities. It promotes privatisation leading to inequality and social injustice. The government should have discussed and debated these issues before implementation of NEP. Education is a major tool for social elevation of many marginalised sections. The Congress leader said, “Has BJP implemented NEP to prevent this elevation of social status among marginalised sections?”
If after deliberations, NEP was found to be good, the Congress would support the government in implementing NEP. Otherwise, the government would have to take the burden of pushing lakhs of people to misery, he said.
