HRD panel drafting New Education Policy gets third extension

The K Kasturirangan Committee tasked with drafting a new education policy has got third extension from the HRD Ministry to give final shape to the draft.

The panel headed by the former ISRO chief, which was supposed to submit the report by June 30, now has time till August 31.

"The panel had sought another extension to give final shape to the policy and the minister has approved it," a senior HRD Ministry official said.

This is the third extension granted to the panel. Initially it was supposed to submit its report by December, 2017.

The existing National Education Policy was framed in 1986 and revised in 1992. A new National Education Policy was part of the BJP manifesto.

Apart from Kasturirangan, the committee has eight members, including mathematician Manjul Bhargava.

The panel will also take into account the report of a panel headed by former cabinet secretary TSR Subramanian, formed by the HRD ministry during the tenure of Smriti Irani.

The TSR Subramanian panel submitted its report to the government in May 2016, suggesting measures to strengthen the education sector that caters to over 300 million students.

However, the government decided to have more consultations and use it as an "input" for the future draft and not as a final draft report, and set up the panel headed by Kasturirangan.

Kasturirangan headed ISRO between 1994 and 2003 and was awarded the country's second highest civilian honour -- Padma Vibhushan -- in 2000.