The Karnataka State Education Policy Commission, led by economist and former UGC chairman Prof. Sukhadeo Thorat, has formally submitted its report to chief minister Siddaramaiah, outlining reforms in school and higher education tailored to the state’s socio-cultural, linguistic, and economic needs—independent of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

The jist of the state education policy was made public on Saturday invoking mixed reactions from academics. It maybe recollected that Congress government in Karnataka said they would shun the NEP 2020 and hence, constituted a committee to draft a state policy.

Key highlights:

School Education:

– Develop a Comprehensive Curriculum for School Education (CCSE) to replace dependence on NCERT textbooks.

– Regulate private pre-primary schools through a separate framework.

– Establish a dedicated regulator for private schools to address concerns over high admission fees and age restrictions.

– Replace the NEP’s 5+3+3+4 model with a simplified 2+8+4 structure: 2 years pre-primary, 8 years primary, 4 years secondary.

– Mandate Kannada or mother tongue as the medium of instruction up to Class 5 across all boards, including CBSE and ICSE.

Higher Education:

– Identify State Institutions of Excellence and adopt a feasibility-based approach for opening new institutions.

– Provide training for all new teachers through Higher Education Teachers Academy Centers in each department.

– Offer free higher education for girls in government, aided, and unaided institutions, with incentives to delay child marriage.

Funding & Research:

– Expand post-matric scholarships and raise the income limit to ₹10 lakh per year.

– Create a State Education Finance Corporation to offer employment-linked loans to low-income students.

– Establish a State Research Foundation with a ₹500 crore seed fund to boost research and innovation.

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