TN not against NEP, says Union Min Subhas Sarkar

CHENNAI: In the backdrop of National Education Policy slugfest between the Centre and State, Union Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar downplayed the NEP controversy and said that the Tamil Nadu government is not against the NEP.

“Tamil Nadu government is not against the National Education Policy (NEP). The State government has only given its observation and has responded on the matters that do not fit well for the State. Nonetheless, the Union government will hold discussions with the government during the full policy implementation in Tamil Nadu, ”said Subhas Sarkar, Union Minister of State for Education, Government of India in Chennai on Saturday.

The minister who came to attend the convocation of Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Sri City met mediapersons on the successful implementation of NEP in India so far.

Speaking about the Tamil Nadu education policy, the minister said, “Education committees can be formed at State and district-levels for policy implementation. They can pick the best fitting policies in NEP for implementation.” However, the minister declined on claims that TN government is opposing NEP and forming their own education policy.

Subsequently, the Union Minister observed that review of NEP so far has been outstanding in the country. “Many institutions have already implemented multi-disciplinary, inter- disciplinary, research and innovation based courses suggested by NEP in their syllabus. These courses are land to laboratory based research which will benefit the nation, ”added the minister.

Further, it was also confirmed that several institutions have signed MoUs with industries as part of NEP.

When asked about conducting common exams for classes 3, 5 and 8 under NEP, which might trigger drop outs across India, the minister said , “These exams will not be conducted as board exams. It will only be conducted in the form of assessment of core concepts and knowledge. Through these assessments, the quality of students can be gauged and improved, ”opined the minister.

Subsequently, when inquired why States like Kerala and TN should implement NEP with high literacy rate, the minister responded, “Highest literacy rate and Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) are not the parameters to assess the quality of education. Instead we should also pay heed to accessibility, drop out ration and outcome of the education system.”

The minister also downplayed several queries raised by the media on the education parameters achieved by the state through thier own state education policies.