Academic voices raise concern over excessive of focus on Indianisation in NEP-2019 draft

MYSURU: Divergent views marked a freewheeling discussion on the draft of the National Education Policy (NEP)-2019 held at the University of Mysore’s (UoM) Manasagangothri campus on Saturday.
Former UoM professor Umapathy, who participated in the discussion organised by the Rashtriya Shikshana Charcha Vedike, expressed reservations about what he felt was an excessive focus on Indianisation in the draft of the policy. “Although the central government rolled back the decision to make study of Hindi compulsory in all the states, we must remain guarded nevertheless. There is always the possibility of the language being imposed in the future,” he said.
Social activist Pa Mallesh, meanwhile, called on citizens to engage on an intellectual level with the NEP draft. “The draft has been prepared and submitted. Now, it is up to the citizens to study the draft, and weigh its pros and cons. We must remember that this will shape the future of our children,” he added.
Tumkur University vice-chancellor Prof YS Siddegowda lauded the policy’s emphasis on skill education, which he said would keep the future generations in good stead as far as gaining employment was concerned. “Skill will become a major criterion in deciding the future of students in the coming years. One of the highlights of the NEP us that there is no agenda concealed beneath the fine print. It aims to roll out new reforms in the field of education,” he added.
Senior journalist Krishnaprasad mused about, what he said was the noticeable absence of terms such as ‘Democracy’ and ‘Secularism’ in the draft. “While the draft speaks at length about Mahatma Gandhi, BR Ambedkar and other prominent national figures, there is no mention of India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The draft seems repetitive at various points. The excessive focus on technology, and technical subjects is worth mentioning, but only in the context of its anti-agrarian leaning. The draft runs the danger of confining those in the working classes to their present station in the future,” he said.
Some of the participants also shared their views on the presence, or lack thereof, of the ethos of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in the draft. Some voices made a spirited pitch for instilling scientific temperament in children. Others focused on the debate over the medium of instruction and the centralisation of the educational system in the country.
Karnataka State Open University dean Jagadeesh, author Basavarju and former UoM vice-chancellor Prof C Basavaraju were among those who participated in the discussion.