‘Implementing NEP, not changing textbooks, is top on my agenda: Edu Minister B C Nagesh

Facing several challenges amidst changes in the curriculum, the education sector in Karnataka is at a crossroads. Amid these challenges, the state government ordered a change of guard by bringing in Tiptur MLA B C Nagesh as the new Minister for Primary and Secondary Education. A first-time minister, and said to be a strong RSS ideologue, Nagesh has his own priorities and insights to deal with the challenges, finds DH’s Rashmi Belur.

Being a new minister in the state cabinet, and having been given the Education portfolio, what are your priorities for the next two years?

My top priority is the successful implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) at the school education level in a full-fledged manner. All these years, no government had vowed to change Macaulay’s education system in the country. We strongly believe that the NEP will not only bring a major change in the education system but it also has solutions to various other problems that are currently faced by the sector.

As soon as you were given the Education portfolio, there were murmurs of impending saffronisation of textbooks…

One cannot term the removal or addition of a few words or lines in the textbooks that are largely related to the emotions of the students as saffronisation. The word is more of a political gimmick. My predecessors were also from the same ideology. Did they try to saffronise the textbooks or the education system? In the past, the review committee had removed the word ‘Maathru’ from ‘ Maathrubhoomi’. Can anybody say ‘Maathru’ came into use only after setting up of RSS? Was there any need for removing that word?

So, will there be any change in the textbooks?

I am not even thinking of reviewing the existing textbooks at this juncture. But I’ll definitely think of it if there is any part which would affect the emotional growth of students or the Swadeshi concept. I just want to pose a question to all: Is it wrong if we try to instil patriotism among children through textbooks? But let me clarify that I will consult academicians and other stakeholders if there is a need to review the textbooks and only then we will go for it.

It is being said that you are just following /consulting your predecessor…

The way BC Nagesh and S Suresh Kumar think could be alike. But that does not mean I am following him. My ultimate purpose is to improve the quality of education and I am open to suggestions from all my predecessors and not just from Suresh Kumar.

What do you think is the solution for the ongoing school fee row between school managements and the parents' groups?

If there is a solution outside the court, then I would suggest improving the bonding between the school managements and parents. I am neither favouring nor against private schools. We cannot insist that schools should not collect fees. At the same time, exploitation in the name of fees is not acceptable. The commercialisation of education is something I am against. There are schools that have understood the financial crisis of parents during the pandemic and rolled out discounts. They deserve applause indeed.

The Opposition and others have dubbed the Education department as corrupt. How would you change this image of the department?

Corruption is a major issue and it is present in all departments. According to me, corruption has to be addressed silently, and I follow our Prime Minister in this matter. This is one of the biggest challenges before me.

Schools are set to reopen next week for upper grades. What are the alternative plans for the primary grades?

I strongly feel ‘Vidyagama’ is the only alternative to engage primary grade children in continuous learning if the reopening of offline classes is deferred further. In fact, the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for Covid-19 had also expressed their opinion to start with primary kids. But keeping in mind the difficulties in following Covid-appropriate behaviour, it was decided to start with grade 9 and above.

How are you planning to strengthen and add quality to government schools?

There is already a study report ready with the department on the number of schools that require improvement in infrastructure. The study was conducted on 13 different parameters and, of the 44,000 schools, about 7,000 fall under the ‘C’ Category, which need immediate attention. We are planning to approach (those with) CSR funds for infrastructure development in schools.

On the admission side, we should not force parents or kids to join government schools. But if we create an atmosphere, then they will voluntarily come and join the schools. I have heard a lot about the transformation of government schools in New Delhi and I am planning to visit those schools for a closer understanding.

The government’s experiment with bilingual schools has been well received. Are there any plans to increase the number of bilingual schools?

We will increase the number of these schools. The demand for bilingual government schools is high and we are planning to start bilingual sections at 1,000 more government schools by training the teachers.