The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) has raised concerns over the new National Education Policy (NEP).
The KCBC Commission for Education told the media here on Wednesday that the government deciding what should be taught in schools would curtail diversity in education, have consequent educational, social and political dimensions and therefore remained a cause for anxiety.
The new policy would deny the students the chance to choose polytechnic or ITI-like training after completion of 10th standard. The proposal that students should be given a chance to study various subjects in higher education presented serious practical difficulties. The moot question was, how many colleges in India, which hardly boast a handful of educational institutions of global standing, would have the capability to self-govern, the body said.
Centralisation
The policy, the KCBC maintained, would lead to a concentration of power at the Centre, with the States that have invested heavily in public instruction reduced to onlookers. The commission expressed reservations about the language policy and a potential commercialisation of good academic institutions. There were also concerns about how objective the process of unification of the curriculum and unified cultural outlook would be in the light of the fact that there was no mention about religious and linguistic minority institutions in the policy. This could communalise education, which should be avoided, the Catholic body said.
Rights and quotas
The KCBC said the rights and reservation granted to various weaker sections under the Constitution should be protected. Creation of various central authorities to govern education, it was feared, would choke and strangulate institutions, it said while welcoming the proposals to have a unified schooling system and to promote the use of technology.
