As the new Congress-led government took charge in the State in May 2023, the education sector, which had been a hub of controversies during the previous BJP regime, saw many reversals.
NEP-2020 scrapped
The incumbent Congress government announced that it would scrap the National Education Policy (NEP) - 2020, a policy framed by the BJP-led Union government and the party’s State government took pride in claiming they were the first State to implement it. However, NEP - 2020 has been controversial since its inception.
Multiple entries and exits from courses, four years of Honours degree, and selection of core and non-core subjects are said to be unscientific and hastily implemented. “The NEP emphasized privatization of higher education, which would deprive students coming from oppressed communities of higher education. Steps have been taken to saffronise the education sector in the name of holistic education,” said development educationist V.P. Niranjanaradhya, who petitioned Rahul Gandhi to scrap NEP-2020 if they came to power in the State, during Bharat Jodo Yatra’s Karnataka leg. This made it to the Congress manifesto.
Karnataka State Education Policy
The incumbent government said it would come out with a Karnataka State Education Policy by the next academic year. The State government constituted a 15-member committee to formulate KSEP under the chairmanship of Sukhdev Thorat, educationist, economist, and former chairman of the University Grant Commission. They are expected to submit their report by February 28, 2024.
Revision of textbooks
The Congress government also formed five committees led by Prof. M.G. Hegde, a retired professor at Rani Chennamma University, Belagavi, for revision of school textbooks in time for the next academic year.
The previous BJP regime had formed a committee led by Hindutva activist Rohith Chakratirtha to revise school textbooks drafted by a committee led by writer Baragur Ramachandrappa. This exercise included lessons written by several Hindutva icons, including Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh founder K.B. Hedgewar, among other changes, that turned controversial.
Once the Congress came to power, with little time to completely revise textbooks for this academic year, it re-revised them to make some “corrections, additions, and deletions” under the guidance of Mr. Ramachandrappa again, promising to bring revised textbooks for the next academic year.
Withdrawal of ban on hijab?
A few days ago, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that the government would withdraw the ban on hijab in educational institutions that was imposed by the previous BJP regime in 2022. However, following intense opposition from the BJP, the Chief Minister backtracked and said a final decision would be taken after discussing it in the Cabinet and with the Law Department.
Three annual exams
The State government has decided to bring major reforms to the Class X and II Pre-University exams from 2023-24. The government abolished supplementary exams, and instead, it would hold three annual exams. Students can write all three exams and the best of their marks will be considered for the marks-sheet, which will not mention which exam the marks came from.
In the existing system, students appear for one annual examination and may appear for one supplementary exam for Class X and two supplementary exams for II PUC. From here on, students will be allowed to improve their performance by taking up the second and third exams if they are not satisfied with the marks scored in the first exam. It is compulsory for regular students to appear for exam 1 and repeater and private candidates can take up exam 2 and exam 3.
Eggs distribution
Earlier, the government was providing eggs/banana/groundnut chikki as an additional input along with midday meals to the students from classes I to VIII across the State. Upon public demand, the new Congress government extended this to even class IX and X students.
Placements affected this year
Characterised by the economic crisis on a global level and the growing gap between industry and academia, the job placements of thousands of students — both engineering and non-engineering were affected this year.
In May this year, engineering students in tier-2 and tier-3 colleges were not able to secure jobs as companies did not even turn up on campuses for recruitment, barring those who had taken up Computer Science and Information Science courses. There was also an uproar around the same time as some engineering colleges demanded placement fees from students.
Coming to non-engineering courses in fields like chemistry, botany, physics, and social sciences, even the students who had secured higher grades also struggled to find jobs due to a lack of industry knowledge. This year’s placement patterns yet again highlighted the need to shorten the academia-industry gap.
Many MBA colleges also saw a drop in the number of recruitments done by MNC companies due to a dip in the number of projects.
The overall placement trends are expected to pick up next year as more projects are expected to be picked up by MNC companies if the economic situation starts getting better.
