Page 16 - Education World September 2021

Education News

turn to school, there’s a groundswell a new curriculum framework;
of opinion among parents, especially mandates flexibility in subject
from low-income households, for selection across science, arts
immediate resumption of in-school and commerce streams and
learning. switch to transferable academic
A survey conducted by the State credits-based system; multiple
Council of Educational Research and exit and entry points during the
Training (SCERT) in July indicates four-year undergrad study pro-
81 percent of the state’s parents want gramme; and mandatory skill
schools to reopen at the earliest with enhancement courses based on
precautionary measures. the National Skills Curriculum
Dipta Joshi (Mumbai) Framework, has been intro-
duced at such short notice by
KARNATAKA the state government.
Unwarranted haste Dr. Ashwath Narayan: polytechnics precedent C Seetharamu, former
omments Prof. A.S.
professor of education at the
ne year after the ambitious and permitting top-ranked foreign Institute of Social and Economic
National Education Policy universities to set up campuses in Change (ISEC), Bengaluru and
O(NEP) 2020 was presented India. education advisor to the Karnataka
to the nation by prime minister Given this long list of prescribed government: “Implementing NEP
Narendra Modi on July 29, 2020, reforms, the out-of-the-blue an- 2020 requires detailed planning
the southern state of Karnataka nouncement of the BJP government and preparedness. The majority of
(pop.68.4 million) has become the in Karnataka to implement the the state’s government and private
first countrywide to implement its radical NEP reforms in the current colleges are small to medium-size
higher education reform proposals. academic year which began in Au- and don’t have trained faculty and
On August 7, the BJP state gov- gust, has taken the state’s academy necessary infrastructure to intro-
ernment issued a circular to 28 state by surprise with college and univer- duce inter-disciplinary subjects and
and 19 private universities and 481 sity managements totally unprepared skill-enhancement courses. The
undergrad colleges to implement to implement the new policy. While government should have consulted
NEP 2020 in the current academic the state government has no doubt experienced academics and institu-
year 2021-22. Two weeks later on earned brownie points with the BJP tional managements before imple-
August 23, it announced that admis- leadership at the Centre for being menting the new policy. Moreover,
sions into all higher education in- first off the blocks, institutional man- the cost of implementation has not
stitutions statewide should be made agements are unprepared to imple- been discussed at all. What budget
under NEP 2020 guidelines. ment the new undergrad admission has the government allocated for
Formulated after an interregnum guidelines. NEP implementation and will private
of 34 years and crafted over four Moreover, most of the state’s 481 colleges be allowed to raise student
years following recommendations undergrad colleges, which reopened fees to fund new initiatives?”
of two (TSR Subramaniam and K. for in-person classes in August, However Dr. C.N. Ashwath
Kasturirangan) committees, NEP had already begun the admissions Narayan, the state’s higher edu-
2020 decrees four-year undergad process in July and were forced to cation minister, dismisses such
degree programmes with a founda- put it on hold after the government criticism as “unwarranted pessi-
tional year of liberal arts learning for announced on August 7 that all mism”. According to him, last year
all streams; multiple certified exit admissions have to be made through the state government conducted a
and re-entry options and a system of a new Unified University and College pilot NEP implementation project
credits to be stored in a national ABC Management System (UUCMS). in 270 polytechnic colleges and the
(academic bank of credits) digital Three days later, the government response was “overwhelming”. “I fail
repository; phasing out the system cancelled admissions under UUCMS to understand why NEP implementa-
of undergrad colleges affiliating with because of “technical glitches” in the tion has taken college managements
parent universities, and graded au- new hastily prepared software. and faculty by surprise. We have
tonomy for undergrad colleges under Knowledgeable academics in the been preparing since last year and
a ‘light but tight’ regulatory frame- state are amazed that NEP 2020, the success of our NEP pilot in 270
work. It also mandates establishment which calls for the constitution of polytechnic colleges prompted us to
of a National Research Foundation 32 subject committees to prepare expand it statewide. The objective of

16 EDUCATIONWORLD SEPTEMBER 2021