'Will be first state to implement NEP'; 'rethink on NEET'

Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Higher Education C.N. Ashwath Narayan met Governor Vajubhai Vala to apprise him of the steps taken to implement the new National Education Policy (NEP).

"Karnataka wants to be the first state to implement the NEP," said Narayan to Vala when they met on Friday evening.

The Deputy Chief Minister told the Governor about the task force constituted to deliberate on how to implement the NEP.

Narayan explained the administrative and legal amendments which the state is intending to make to facilitate NEP implementation.

"The implementation would start as soon as the task force submits the final draft, which is expected to happen very soon," he added.

Vala expressed happiness over the steps taken to implement the new education policy and also offered his suggestions to the Deputy Chief Minister.

The southern state is taking a number of steps to implement the NEP as soon as possible.

The government is waiting for the final recommendations of the high-level task force constituted immediately after receiving the draft of the NEP.

Earlier, Narayan had said the state will establish 16 universities and 34 autonomous educational institutions in the next three years, aimed at attaining the goals set by the NEP by 2030.

The Karnataka government has set a deadline of 10 years to achieve the goals mentioned in the NEP, calling it 'Target-2030'.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President D.K. Shivakumar, has appealed to the Centre and the state government to defer the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) examinations amid the pandemic.

"I appeal to the Government of India and the state government to see that the exams are postponed and conducted in normal situation," Shivakumar said late on Friday. He released the video message, as he is Coronavirus positive and under treatment in quarantine.

He exhorted the government to wait till the situation improves, saying that the government should not play with the future of the students.

"Lives of our students must not be risked when the Coronavirus pandemic is raging across India. They are our future nation builders and their voices must be heard," he said.

Shivakumar asked the central and state governments not to remain adamant on this issue, and called them to postpone NEET and JEE entrance examinations.

At a time when the world is facing such as a big crisis, he said even the students across India are opposing the exams. "Parents are worried, students are worried. Let us give them a good environment to see that their future is secured," said the KPCC president.

NEET and JEE are entrance examinations which allow admissions into professional courses such as engineering and medicine.

The Karnataka government has resolved to conduct the exams on the back of their successful conducting of the KCET, a state entrance test.

On Wednesday, Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan exuded confidence that Karnataka is well prepared to conduct NEET and he appealed to some sections of people not to hinder the conduct of the examination, citing the recent KCET exam as a successful case amid the Coronavirus pandemic.

Narayan said the state government is well prepared to conduct the entrance examination and expressed confidence that it will be held smoothly.