University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar on Monday said the Karnataka government should reconsider its decision to scrap the National Education Policy-2020, keeping the interests of the students in mind as the policy has set an ambitious goal of improving the gross enrollment ratio (GER) in higher education to 50 per cent by 2035. As nearly 65 per cent of students come from rural backgrounds, the interests of those students had been kept in mind while framing the policy, he stated.
Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Prof. Kumar, who was here to participate in the 14th convocation of JSS AHER, said students would suffer if NEP-2020 was not implemented as envisaged since it aims to give best learning opportunities to the students with a four-year UG course besides dual degree programmes. The reforms that it brings aim to transform higher education, he added.
Maintaining that the response to the NEP-2020 in various States has been overwhelming, he said the UGC has been constantly interacting with the Chief Secretaries of the States and the vice-chancellors in five zones in the country on the implementation of NEP-2020.
