Nep

The story so far: Since the introduction of the National Education Policy, 2020 (NEP), Kerala has viewed the policy document with serious disagreements. However, two years down the line, the State has begun to warm up to some of the provisions, albeit with considerable hesitance. Despite the shift in policy, chances of a quick roll-out appear remote due to various factors. The government has hinted that the reforms might be introduced only during the 2023-24 academic year.

What prompted the State’s initial apathy to NEP, 2020?

Entrusted by the State Government to study the impacts of NEP, 2020, the Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) had constituted a committee chaired by noted economist Prabhat Patnaik which concluded that the policy is retrograde and presented an exclusionary vision of education. It also raised concerns over the possible challenges that the scheme posed for access, equity, social justice and the reservation system. The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) also felt NEP, 2020 sought to align the country’s education policy with the needs of private investment and technocapitalism, while ignoring democratic principles and the federal system. Some provisions, including the move to permit multiple entry and exit in academic programmes, were feared to legitimise dropouts. The government also claimed the proposed National Research Foundation and the Board of Governance of Higher Education Institutions would “kill the democratic spirit of universities and their autonomy”.

How has the State altered its position?

When the LDF led by incumbent Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan returned to power with a thumping mandate in 2021, the government felt an urgent need to overhaul the higher education sector that appeared to have stagnated in contrast to school education in the State which has constantly topped national rankings. That it emerged victorious on the poll plank of transitioning Kerala into a knowledge-based economy and arresting brain drain from the State led the government to embark on a series of reforms including relaxing its approach on academic autonomy and privatisation.

The LDF’s policy shift was apparent after the recent CPI(M) State conference approved the ‘Nava Keralam’ vision document presented by Mr.Vijayan which mooted private investments in higher education. This was in stark contrast to the days when activists of the Students Federation of India (SFI), the student body of the CPI(M), roughed up the then KSHEC vice-chairman and former diplomat T.P. Sreenivasan after accusing him of attempting to commercialise the sector through a ‘global education meet’ held in 2016.

The seeds of change were sown when the previous Pinarayi Vijayan Government had, in 2020, constituted a committee to explore the possibility of establishing an ‘Education City’ in Kerala to offer courses in collaboration with foreign universities.

Notably, the panel included an official of one of the largest private universities in the country.

How has the government’s perception about the policy changed?

Of late, the government has begun to feel an urge to address the systemic rigidity that hindered multidisciplinary research and inter-university collaborations. Besides, there has been a growing clamour to liberate universities from the clutches of political machinations and free colleges from the overbearing influence of universities. A section of the academic community also called for relieving universities of their affiliation management chores and enabling them to focus on research. In order to address such lacunae, the LDF Government has constituted three commissions to reform the higher education sector, the examination system and the statutory laws that govern universities.

What hinders its implementation?

Despite having adopted a pragmatic stance towards NEP, 2020, the government is yet to frame guidelines on implementing its provisions in the State. It hoped to customise the reforms to suit its ideals of affirmative action and social justice. Various logistical issues such as creating new posts that would burden the State exchequer amid the fiscal crunch have also put a spanner in the works.

What lies ahead?

While the Union Government has maintained that the NEP, 2020 is advisory in nature, many educationists feel that the State would do well to be mindful of the carrot-and-stick approach of the University Grants Commission. The universities could be arm-twisted into implementing the provisions to avail themselves of various benefits in the future.

The liberal approach brought in by the National Education Policy-2020 will help students combine the subjects of their choice, ensuring wholistic learning, former Chairman of the NEP-2020 drafting committee K. Kasturirangan, has said.

Delivering his address at the combined annual convocation of the Sri Venkateswara University (SVU) on Thursday, Dr. Kasturirangan, who now heads the National Steering Committee for National Curriculum Framework, said that the idea of liberal education has been vividly discussed in the classical Indian texts such as Banabhatta’s Kadambari written some 1,400 years ago.

The university organised its 58 ^th , 59 ^th , 60 ^th , 61 ^st and 62 ^nd convocation at one go.

“Comprehensive liberal education help develops intellectual, aesthetic, social, physical, emotional and moral capacities. The current compartmentalised approach in education must go, making way for an integrated, multi-disciplinary and holistic approach,” said Dr. Kasturirangan.

Referring to the National Research Foundation (NRF), Dr. Kasturirangan said it would nurture a vibrant research ecosystem through adequate funding, mentoring and monitoring.

The former ISRO Chairman also advised to the students to make use of the research facilities such as National Atmospheric Research Laboratory at Gadanki, Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota and National Remote Sensing Centre in Hyderabad.

Governor and Chancellor of universities Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, who conducted the convocation proceedings in virtual mode, advised the academics to acknowledge digital classrooms as the mainstay of teaching. He said that learning through Internet and smart phones was a logical step in the field of knowledge dissemination.

Honorary doctorate

The university conferred a honorary doctorate on IPS officer-turned-philanthropist Chandra Bhanu Satpathy for bring a change in the lives of more than 20,000 differently-abled children through his ‘Swabhiman’ society in Bhubaneshwar.

Similar titles were conferred on renowned psychiatrist Indla Ramasubba Reddy and ‘Avadhani’ Narala Rama Reddy.

Vice-Chancellor K. Raja Reddy read out the annual report that highlighted the achievements of the university on academic, research and social fronts.

As many as 26,052 students who passed out in the last five years received their degrees. While 15,018 students received their degrees in advance, 8,563 got them in absentia and 2,471 in person. Around 340 gold medals and 213 prizes were presented to meritorious candidates on the occasion.

Former judge of the Madras High Court K. Chandru on Friday said democracy and secularism were in peril, and teachers should shoulder the responsibility to protect them.

Addressing the inaugural session of the three-day national conference of the School Teachers’ Federation of India (STFI), Mr. Chandru said, to further their own selfish motives, the ruling parties were resorting to gross violation of the constitutional norms.

The former judge accused the Centre of completely ignoring the Kothari Commission’s recommendation that the responsibility of framing the new education policy be given to the States.

To impose its own agenda, the BJP Government had come out with an education policy that had many loopholes, he said.

Striking a discordant note on the National Education Policy-2020, speakers at the conference demanded its repeal, arguing that it would lead to centralisation and commercialisation of the education system, besides fomenting “communal trouble.”

Federation’s national president Abhijeet Mukherjee presided over the Open House that followed a rally from Nirmala Convent Road to the Benz Circle.

MLC K.S. Lakshmana Rao said the Centre had brought in the NEP without discussing it with the States, and the policies advocated in the NEP were against the democratic and secular spirit of the Constitution.

Federation’s national general secretary C.N. Bharati said the three-day conference would deliberate upon the existing ills in the education system. The education system of a country like India, where people spoke many language and followed different cultures, should promote the concept of unity in diversity.

Joint secretary of the federation Harikrishnan said the BJP Government at the Centre chanted slogans of Atma Nirbhar Bharat and Digital India, ignoring the fact that more than two crore children were out of school. He said the Kerala Government had been appointing teachers periodically to ensure that the children did not suffer.

STFI vice-president M. Samyukta emphasised the need for implementation of the Right to Education Act in letter and spirit. She said efforts to do away with lessons on freedom fighter Bhagat Singh from school syllabus were unfortunate.

MLC Shaik Sabji slammed the State Government for “thrusting” the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) on them after doing away with the old pension scheme.

STFI secretary N. Aruna Kumari and leaders of the federation from various States participated.

With employment opportunities galore for commerce and management graduates, this year too, those seeking admissions for undergraduate degree courses are preferring Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) and Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) the most. Though humanities courses continue to receive limited admissions, science combinations which include data science, computer application and cyber security, have been in great demand this admission season.

Along with regular B.Com courses, students are now asking for an integrated curriculum which also trains them to take up Chartered Accountant (CA) examinations. “We have seen a lot of demand for B.Com in general and B.Com Integrated courses. Our journalism course has garnered a lot of enquiries,” said a faculty member of Jyoti Nivas College.

Puttaraj P., principal, BMS College for Women, added that apart from regular demand for B.Com, this year, Bachelor of Computer Application (BCA) admissions have also increased.

Why the demand?

Education experts say students today do not want to depend on their parents for too long and are looking for job opportunities as soon as they graduate. They say that even with basic knowledge of accounting, it is easy to find a job in a city like Bengaluru.

“Today, most students are not knowledge-seeking, but job seeking. Many of our students actually work part time and study. Those who study B.Com and BBA, learn subjects like accounting, taxation, statistics and computer science, which are essential to land jobs at MNCs. At our college, if we get thousand admissions for commerce, we only get 200 for humanities,” said H. Prakash, Principal, Maharani College.

Explaining the demand for data science and other related courses, Thimme Gowda, Vice President, Karnataka State Higher Education Council, said, “For every course, job opportunity is the criteria. Data science, artificial intelligence and other technological fields are the need of the hour. When NEP is implemented in full swing and more integrated courses are introduced, the demand for commerce might decrease. Educational institutions should now start supplying human resources for locally relevant courses,” he added.

Increase in admissions

Most colleges have reported an increase in the number of students getting admitted to degree courses this year. At RV University, there has been a drastic increase in admissions, according to Titto Anthony Adam, Assistant Director, Admissions and Outreach. “We have seen a four-fold increase in our admissions as we started the process very early. Most people are inclined towards B.Tech, BBA and other related programmes. In humanities, there is more demand for psychology courses,” he mentioned.