State Education Policy Commission submits final report

Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Education Policy Commission (SEP) has submitted its final report to the state government, proposing significant reforms in school and higher education as an alternative to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Headed by Prof. Sukhadeo Thorat, the commission has recommended a 2+8+4 structure in school education, a bilingual policy (Kannada/mother tongue and English), and several other measures aimed at improving access, quality, and inclusivity.

Under the 2+8+4 formula, students would undergo two years of pre-primary, eight years of primary, and four years of secondary education. The commission suggested setting up residential schools for migrant children, universalising secondary education across the state, and establishing new schools in areas without bus connectivity. It recommended making Kannada or the mother tongue compulsory as the medium of instruction up to Class 5 in all boards, alongside English in a bilingual model.

Other proposals include attaching two-year pre-primary programmes to primary schools, reopening closed schools due to low enrolment, and extending the Right to Education Act to cover children aged 4 to 18. The commission also advised upgrading government school quality to Kendriya Vidyalaya standards, setting up development centres in every taluk, and introducing comprehensive continuous evaluation (CCSE). It called for ending NCERT curriculum adoption, localising subjects, halting contractual teacher appointments, and prioritising urgent school repairs.

The report emphasised cultural and vocational integration through theatre, music, and sports, increasing education spending to 30 per cent of the state budget, and making constitutional values compulsory in education. Special measures were recommended for low-income Muslim students, rural Muslim girls, and to prevent child marriages.

For higher education, the commission proposed gradually increasing expenditure to 4 per cent of GSDP for education and 1 per cent for higher education by 2034–35, continuing pre-NEP re-entry policies, allowing postgraduate admissions from any state university, reserving 50 per cent seats under affiliation rules, making a second language course mandatory, introducing integrated 5-year degree-postgraduate programmes, phasing in bilingual teaching, and incorporating comprehensive sex education at the pre-university level.