No NEP in Karnataka from next academic year: CM Siddaramaiah

“NEP has to be abolished after making some necessary preparations. There was no time for preparations this year. By the time the election results came in and the government was formed, the academic year had already started. This year NEP will be continued as it should not cause problems to students in the middle of an academic year,” said Siddaramaiah.

The Congress leader added, “NEP is simultaneously opposed by students, parents, lecturers and teachers. The BJP has sacrificed the interest of the students of the country by implementing NEP for the first time in the state without implementing it in the country.”

The previous state BJP government had implemented NEP in Karnataka in 2021. The state was also the first to implement NEP in higher education institutions. However, in the run-up to this year’s state Assembly polls, the Congress had promised to scrap NEP after coming to power. It also dubbed NEP as ‘Nagpur Education Policy’ in a reference to the RSS headquarters.

Vice-chancellors of public universities, in a meeting with higher education minister MC Sudhakar in June, also submitted the challenges in implementing some of the provisions of the policy. Concerns were raised around offering multidisciplinary courses to students given the lack of qualified faculties for teaching open elective subjects under NEP, among other aspects.

Minister Sudhakar also directed the Board of Studies in all state universities to frame the syllabus only till fifth and sixth semesters in an effort to scrap the four-year honours degree. As per NEP, three-year undergraduate degree programmes will be extended to four years as honours degree.

The Congress government is also planning to form a committee soon with representatives from school and higher education departments to come up with a State Education Policy for Karnataka.