Kerala: State's model of education under threat from NEP, say, educationists, journalists

Thiruvananthapuram: All India Save Education Committee, which comprises noted personalities in the field of journalism, literature, and more has cautioned the Kerala government to reverse its position on implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in the state.

The individuals believe that Kerala implementing NEP 2020 would destroy the Kerala model of education, which has been praised in India and across the world.

Literary critics M.K. Sanoo and M. Leelavathi, veteran journalist B.R.P. Bhaskar, writer Sarah Joseph, and poet K.G. Sankara Pillai are some of the personalities who took part in issuing a joint statement against efforts to implement the policy.

The statement warned against private, autonomous, and foreign universities being built in Kerala under NEP while alleging that the Kerala School Curriculum Framework is part of the government's strategy to hand over its responsibilities to the local bodies.

The committee's aim is to turn schools and colleges into 'vocational training institutes' aimed at churning out workers who are probably good at handling machines in their field but are not intelligent. The noted members also suggested phasing out permanent teachers from pre-primary to higher education and hiring 'helpers' on a contract or on daily-wage basis.

The members also raised concerns over Class 1 and 2 students being made part of pre-primary education and left under the care of anganwadis, which could 'collapse' elementary education.