The Karnataka State Education Policy will be based on data and facts, and not on assumptions and presumptions, said Sukhadeo Thorat, chairman of the commission set up to frame the policy.
Speaking at a press conference at The Karnataka Higher Education Council on Friday, he said: “We will first study the entire school and higher education system, which will help us identify its strengths and weaknesses.” He said the commission will use “all possible existing data” including All India Survey of School and Higher Education reports, National Sample Survey (NSS) data on school and higher education and National Assessment and Accreditation Council data.”
Studying status of education
“We will study the status of education attainment in the State, how it can be improved at the aggregate level as well as in various groups. We will also study access to school and higher education, look into the governance structure and the financing. We will identity the issues and make suggestions in the report,” Mr. Thorat explained, adding that skill and employability will also be looked into.
“Our mandate is to take a review of the earlier policies including National Education Policy (NEP-2020) and there will be deliberation and discussion,” he said. Mr. Thorat said that the commission will have interactions with all stakeholders like associations of Vice-Chancellors, former Vice-Chancellors, college teachers, students, school and college managements, and civil society and NGOs engaged in the education sector.
Working simultaneously
“The government has given six months’ time to submit the report. Therefore, we formed nine working groups on various themes. There is one group which will work on the status of enrolment and projection, other groups will look towards quality of education, equity and inclusion, and so on. All these groups will simultaneously work,” he said.
He said SEP will be futuristic and will give a medium-term and long-term policy for Karnataka school and higher education. “It will be very comprehensive. Our policy will be similar to Radhakrishna Commission and Kothari Commission reports,” said Mr. Thorat.
