Bengaluru: Karnataka’s primary education minister, Madhu Bangarappa, announced on Saturday that the state’s education department will implement the State Education Policy (SEP) instead of National Education Policy (NEP). The decision aims to cater to the local realities of the state.
During his visit to a Model Government Primary School in Bengaluru, the education minister stated, ‘Education department has decided that NEP will not be implemented in Karnataka. We are planning to implement SEP (State Education Policy) on the suggestion of the professional team.’
The Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, who also recently announced his government’s withdrawal from the NEP, argued that the federal system of governance and the diversity of religions, languages, and cultures in India make it incompatible with the country’s needs.
The NEP was in the process of being implemented in schools in Karnataka after being previously implemented in the state at the higher education level.
Karnataka Higher Education Minister, in one of his addresses said, ‘We want to analyze the positive and negatives of the policy. As mentioned in the manifesto, state education policy will be implemented but at the same time, students’ betterment should also be taken into consideration.’
The NEP has been criticized by some, including Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, who has called it one-sided, stating that a democratic country like India, with its diverse religions, needs its own policy.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy has criticized NEP as being one-sided. ‘NEP is not good. It is one-sided and this is a democratic country. A lot of religions are there. We will implement our own policy,’ Ramalinga Reddy said.
