The National Education Policy 2020 will be implemented in the pre-primary or anganwadi stages in Karnataka starting from November, minister for school education and literacy, BC Nagesh said on Thursday.
He said that the state has constituted 6 committees to look into various aspects of National Education Policy 2020 pertaining Early Childhood Care and Education. These include experts looking into curriculum and syllabus, evaluation, assessment and training, capacity building, community involvement, children’s well-being and inclusive education.
National curriculum framework would be ready by September. Basis this, Karnataka must ready it’s state curriculum framework, the minister said.
The state is also adopting the Chilipili and Nali Kali programmes for Early Childhood Care and Education.
The minister who addressed the media alongside minister for women and child development Halappa Achar, said that among the anganwadi teachers, challenge is to train those whose education qualification of only SSLC.
In the 66,361 anganwadis in the state, 40,786 anganwadi workers have a SSLC certificate, 14,303 have cleared their PUC, 6,017 have an undergraduate degree while 732 have post graduate degrees.
“It is a challenge to be rain those anganwadi teachers who have just cleared their SSLC. We are apprehensive about their ability to catch up as fast as the higher qualified ones. Hence, training has been planned in a phased manner. In the first phase, those anganawadi teachers who have a degree and post graduation course will be given short term training to begin with,” said Nagesh.
Regarding the inspection and study of education levels in Madarasas, he said that even Adarsha schools’ education have been reviewed in the past. “We never claimed that teaching in Madarasas is substandard. It is because we got complains from parents that we had to intervene. This is routine. Just like all other schools where quality checks happen, Madarasas are no exception,” he said.
“Children could have inferiority complex if they are not learning maths and science to the standards of their peers in other schools. There is a huge dropouts among children enrolled here. Their claims are that it is because these children find it tough to catch up with those who have been educated in a convenient system. The onus lies on the government to ensure quality education is delivered,” said Nagesh.
“This is Karnataka” Nagesh said responding to a query on whether the state will follow the Uttar Pradesh framework.
Government schools closure
As many as 26 government schools have been shut in Chikkamagaluru district alone. Responding to allegations of closure of schools statewide, Nagesh said, “the primary reason for shutting down schools is population reduction. There are no children of the school going age in several villages. Better roads have also given them access to a range of schools to select from. This could be another reason.”
