NEP Implementation: Task Force submits report to CM

Bengaluru: The Task Force Committee headed by former Chief Secretary S.V. Ranganath to implement National Educational Policy (NEP) in Karnataka submitted its report to Chief Minister B.S.Yediyurappa here on Monday.

The CM suggested Deputy Chief Minister and Higher Education Minister  Dr. C.N. Ashwath Narayan, and Primary and Secondary Education Minister S.Suresh Kumar  to table the report in the next Cabinet meeting.

Prof. M.K. Sridhar, Member, Task Force Committee and NEP Formation Committee,  said after 175 years, the Union Government has formed its own education policy. The State Government has held an important role in the narration of the policy. He explained that the education policy aspires that the Government and the society had to give impetus to the education system.

Arun Shahpur, MLC and member, Task Force Committee, Vasudeva Athre, Prof. Anurag Behar  and senior officers from Primary, Secondary and Higher Education Department were present.

Recommendations of Task Force

School Education

1. Karnataka Senior Secondary Education Curriculum (KSSEC) and State School Standards Authority (SSSA) to ensure regulation and separate operations of schools.
2. Reformation of Department of State Educational Research and Training (DSERT).
3. To attract grants under CSR for gender & disability funds.
4. Establishment of Special Education Zones (SEZs) across the State.
5. Single platform to be created for all types of scholarships. Establish disability scholarship along with it.

Higher Education

1. New Karnataka State Universities Act to be implemented.
2. Implement another new act to establish the Karnataka Higher Education Commission.
3. Identify and establish Special Education Zones.
4. All scholarships applicable to economically and socially disadvantaged groups to be brought under one platform.
5. To initiate the process of empowering affiliated educational bodies and autonomous  colleges.

CM  launches new system of learning

Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa launched Learning Management System (LMS), Karnataka, first-of-its-kind in the country here on Monday.

He hoped that this system would not only encourage digital learning but it would also improve quality and Gross Enrolment Ration (GER) in higher education.

Speaking on the occasion, he opined that this system would provide digital learning platform for students and it would cover 430 Government First Grade Colleges, 87 Government Polytechnics and 14 Government Engineering Colleges. The continuous evaluation of students and teachers would bring in revolutionary changes in quality of higher education, he added.

This initiative would benefit 4.5 lakh students and 24,000 teachers making great impact on their learning and teaching respectively. This programme is implemented at an expenditure of Rs. 34.14 crore in two ways — LMS-based digital learning and establishing 2500 ICT-enabled classes, the CM said.

In LMS, students can access study material anytime and anywhere. This teaching, learning, continuous evaluation and corrective measures makes it comprehensive, he said.

Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. C.N. Ashwathnarayan, while speaking on the occasion, said that, Karnataka LMS is implemented to provide quality education with appropriate usage of technology. In this system, student can learn anytime, anywhere, online or offline and evaluation information of each student is maintained in this system, he said.

Primary and Secondary Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar, Member of National Education Policy Drafting Committee Prof. M.K. Sridhar, Secretary to Chief Minister Dr. S. Selvakumar and Commissioner of Collegiate Education Pradeep were present.