A committee set up to prepare the Karnataka State Education Policy (KSEP) has recommended a two-language formula and zero dependence on NCERT textbooks.
The draft KSEP plans to deviate from the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 by retaining the three-year undergraduate (UG) course structure and disallowing
the multiple entry-exit system at the UG level, according to the media release issued
by the state higher education department.
The KSEP report was submitted by chairman Sukhadeo Thorat last week.
If the panel’s recommendations are accepted and implemented by the Congress-ruled state government, the KSEP will be significantly different from the NEP, which envisages a uniform educational framework across the country.
The draft KSEP also focuses on inclusive and affordable education. While the Indian Knowledge System in traditional scriptures has been a major thrust area of the NEP, the KSEP lays emphasis on leveraging traditional knowledge in Kannada by setting up a centre.
The state policy also recommends the inclusion of Constitutional Value Education — covering the Preamble, fundamental rights and duties and directive principles of state policy — as compulsory across all institutions.
Under the draft KSEP, the government will fix the
fees of private higher educational institutions (HEIs) depending on the students’ ability to pay. It discourages
the appointment of guest teachers to manage courses in universities and colleges and suggests filling up vacant posts to improve the quality of higher education.
The KSEP has sought the implementation of Article 15(5) to ensure reservation in admission to private unaided HEIs for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
The draft state policy proposes a Karnataka State Council for Quality Assessment (KSCQA) to help universities, colleges and standalone
institutions improve quality and excellence. The KSCQA will consult the University Grants Commission and the All India Council of Technical Education on policy issues to avoid overlap.
The proposal for the KSCQA is significant as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have openly objected to certain policy changes proposed by the UGC in recent months.
One such proposal was to amend the UGC regulations, allowing more contractual appointments and the appointment of industry persons as vice-chancellors. The draft UGC regulations also sought to deny states the power to set up search panels for the selection of VCs.
While the NEP seeks equal treatment for both public-funded and private educational institutions, the KSEP gives the state government the power to check compliance with minimum standards in private universities.
The UGC will be requested to revise university and deemed-to-be-university regulations to clearly define the state government’s role in monitoring equity, quality
and governance.
The report recommends spending 1 per cent of the GDP on higher education and 3 per cent on school education.
Earlier this month, Tamil Nadu had rolled out its own school education policy.