Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday condemned the Karnataka government’s decision to scrap the National Education Policy (NEP) as “anti-student”.

“The NEP is a future document for the 21st century, not a political document. NEP is about (the) new emerging technology of the 21st century. It is about skills-based education in the school system,” Pradhan said.

He further said, “What kind of politics (do) they want to play? Let politics take its own route and the Karnataka government should not play with the futures of the young generation.”

“Does he (DK Shivakumar) and the Congress oppose early childhood care and education as a part of formal education? Does he not want our children to achieve foundational literacy and numeracy by the time they complete grade 2?” the Minister asked.

“Does he oppose localised Indian toys, games and play-based learning for our children? Does he oppose education in Kannada and other Bharatiya bhasha (language)? Does he not want examinations such as NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test), CUET (Common University Entrance Test), JEE (Joint Entrance Examination) to be conducted in Bharatiya bhasha, including Kannada, in a transparent manner?” he added.

Earlier last week, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had said the NEP will be scrapped in the state from the next academic year.

While Deputy CM DK Shivakumar on a post on X had said, “After coming to power, we promised to cancel the National Education Policy and we are committed to that promise. What is the rush to implement NEP first in Karnataka? Why has NEP not been implemented in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh?”

He further said that Karnataka’s education system is a model for the country. “That is why Bangalore is the IT capital today. So many people in the state are in good positions abroad, because of our education system,” the Deputy CM had said.