Karkataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa opined that the conspiracy of imposition of Hindi language is behind the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Speaking to reporters in Mandya on Friday, the Minister said that it may even be a threat to learning the Kannada language. "With the imposition of Hindi, Kannada language itself would be forgotten slowly. Each state has its own culture, language and educational system. The Union government has resorted to impose the culture of one state on the other, which is not right. We are in a federal system, and should respect the culture, language and education of all states”, Madhu Bangarappa said.
"The Congress has opposed the NEP 2020 in the poll manifesto and had informed of revision of textbooks. We are in power because of that. The children’s education should not be based on the ideologies of the political parties. Our government is committed to create a better environment in education," he opined.
To a query on privatisation of government schools, the minister said, “It is impossible to privatise government schools or lease them to private organisations. However, schools can be upgraded with the partnership of private parties. There is no such proposal of leasing out educational institutions to others, before the government".
“Appointment of teachers is before the High Court. The case would come up for hearing on August 28. Besides, the High Court has directed not to give appointment letters till the verdict is out. Steps would be taken to appoint 13,500 teachers at a brisk pace,” he assured.
‘Operation Hand’
When asked about ‘Operation Hand’, the Minister asked, “Is it possible to disclose this to the media? You will come to know about it, once it is implemented”.
Egg distribution
The Minister launched a programme that provides eggs twice a week to students of government schools.
“Earlier, eggs were provided once a week to students of 8th standard. Now, we have decided to distribute eggs twice a week for students from class 1 to 10. In spite of the burden due to guarantee schemes, the government has decided to distribute eggs in view of the children’s health," he added.