From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Feb 5: Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has urged all the State Governments to join in mounting pressure on the Centre and University Grants Commission (UGC) to withdraw the flawed National Educational Policy (NEP) policy in the larger interests of students.

He was addressing a meeting on Higher Education Ministers of different States including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Jarkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Maharasthra through video conferencing held in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

“As the NEP is full of drawbacks and flaws, we need to unitedly exert pressure on the Centre and the UGC not to go ahead with its hurried implementation,” he said pointing out that Karnataka has already submitted its objections while Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been quite vocal in their opposition.

Shivakumar pointed out that the standard of education was qualitatively better in all the Southern States and students from the Northern parts of India used to come to the Southern States for better education since the last 30 years.

While Karnataka boasts of over 70 medical colleges and in excess of 250 engineering colleges, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have a large num ber of colleges. It is imperative that the country’s education must be the best both at the national and international level. However, the present situation was that it was not up to international standards, he said.

Pointing out he and the State’s Home Minister Dr G Parameshwar, who had earlier served as the State’s Higher Education Minister, were involved in running educational institutions and had lot of knowledge in their administration, the Deputy Chief Minister stressed the need to make the country’s education levels to stand up to international standards instead of states fighting against each other within the country.

“We need to make our education to be in tune with the present technical knowledge and advances making the best use of modern tools,” he said advocating the necessity of keeping abreast of the times.

Karnataka’s Higher Education Minister Dr M C Sudharkar, Telangana IT and Industries Minister Shridhar Babu, Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister Dr Govichezhiyan, Kerala Higher Education Minister Dr R Bindu, Himachal Higher Education Minister Rohit Thakur, Jharkhand Higher and Technical Education Minister Sudivya Kumar participated while Maharashtra Higher Education Minister Dr Chandrakant Patil took part in the proceedings through video conferencing.