In an effort to replace National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 from being the education policy driving the state's directives, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah recently announced that 'Marusinchana' will be implemented across the state instead of NEP 2020.
During his speech in the Karnataka legislative assembly, Siddaramaiah stated that the state's new education scheme will align with its social, cultural, political, and economic aspects. The newly elected Karnataka government has also allocated Rs 80 crore in its budget to the scheme.
What is Marusinchana? How is it different from NEP?
While alleging that NEP 2020 is 'incompatible with the federal system and has various anomalies that undermine constitution and democracy', Siddaramaiah stated that the newly introduced education scheme will include over 33 lakh students.
"Under the new scheme, the state government is also looking at equipping one and a half lakh students behind in learning for matriculation exams," the CM said in the Assembly.
In the 2023-24 budget announced by the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government, the education department has been allocated a total of Rs 37,587 crore, which comes to 11% of the total expenditure.
NEP on the other hand aims to be different in its structure and objectives. The policy aims to increase India's overall expenditure from 3 to 6%, focusing on different aspects of school and higher education.
NEP 2020 is also set to replace the 10+2 model, wherein students have a continuous period of schooling and junior college, with the 5+3+3+4 model. As per NEP 2020, exams will also be conducted in just three classes, classes 2, 5, and 8.
Major features of Karnataka's education budget for 2023-24
The Karnataka government has also sanctioned money for toilets in the state's colleges and schools, with 150 and 5,775 of them being built respectively. The renovation of schools and colleges will also cost the ruling Congress government Rs 100 crore. Rs 153 crore is being allocated to maintain the conditions of 47,000 schools and 1231 PU colleges.
In order to rule out any fraudulent marksheet issues, the government has made it mandatory for students to register themselves on the 'Academic Bank of Credits'.
The development was also confirmed by Karnataka Higher Education Minister MC Sudhakar who stated that the government will not be following NEP 2020 with Marusinchana being implemented in different phases.
