Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday said that the state government has drafted a manifesto which ensures Karnataka will get a State Education Policy. Shivakumar said this to reporters when asked if a new education policy will be implemented in the state.
“There will be no Nagpur Education Policy. We will discuss this in length and breadth..,” Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar told reporters on Wednesday.
Shivakumar’s statements come after several prominent writers and academics, on Monday, urged the new government to take immediate action in scrapping the New Education Policy (NEP) and revising school textbooks that were revised during the previous BJP regime. The delegation, known as Samana Manaskara Okkoota, met with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and submitted a memorandum outlining their demands.

Newly appointed Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa had on Tuesday indicated the possibility of revising school textbooks in the days ahead, in the interest of the students and to ensure that their minds are not “polluted”.

Further Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had on Monday said that education sector will not be allowed to be ‘adulterated’ in the name of the New Education Policy (NEP). The Chief Minister said a separate meeting would be convened in this regard once again to discuss it comprehensively and take strict decisions.
The Congress in its poll manifesto had promised to undo the changes made to school textbooks when the BJP was in power, and had also promised to scrap NEP.

There was a textbook controversy during the previous regime, with demands by opposition Congress and some writers for sacking the then textbook review committee chief Rohith Chakratirtha for allegedly “saffronising” school textbooks by including the speech of RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar as a chapter, and omitting chapters on key figures like freedom fighters, social reformers, and the writings of noted literary figures.

There were also allegations of erroneous content on 12th century social reformer Basavanna and certain factual errors in the textbooks, including accusations of disrespecting ‘Raashtra Kavi’ (national poet) Kuvempu and distortion of the state anthem penned by him.